‘VO  c^.  I  ■ 

MPRIMTED  REPORT  OF  1895,  SENT  TO 
GOVERNOR  AND  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 


A  REPORT  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE 
DISPOSAL  OF  THE  SEWAGE 


OF’  THE 

Southern  Indiana 

# 

Hospital  for  Insane, 

EVANSVILLE,  INDIANA. 


TO  THE  GOVERNOR. 


$ 


INDIANAPOLIS  : 

WM.  B.  BURFOED,  CONTRACTOR  FOR  STATE  PRINTING  AND  BINDING 

1895. 


BOARD  OF  CONTROL. 


To  the  Hon.  Claude  Mai  thews,  Governor  of  Indiana 


We  herewith  hand  you  a  special  report  on  the  subject  of  the 
disposition  of  the  sewage  of  this  Hospital.  Our  report  con¬ 
sists  of  the  report  made  to  you  in  February,  1895,  on  this  same 
question,  with  a  supplementary  report,  dealing  with  the  present 
condition  of  our  sewer  line  and  method  of  disposing  of  the  out¬ 
put  of  the  sewage  from  this  Hospital. 

Since  1895  there  has  been  no  improvement,  but  the  situation 
has  become  worse,  as  it  will,  in  a  marked  degree,  from  year  to 
year  if  some  relief  is  not  afforded  us  by  the  General  Assembly 
in  the  passage  of  some  measure  which  will  cover  the  present 
status  of  affairs. 

^  Relief  can  only  be  obtained  through  the  General  Assembly 
as  we  have  tried  every  means  offered  by  the  present  statute 
^  without  accomplishing  anything. 

The  sewage  is  conveyed  through  the  land  of  our  neighbors, 
along  the  public  highway  in  front  of  residences,  and  finally  de- 
posited  on  the  property  of  an  adjacent  land  holder  and  spread 
^  over  his  grounds,  creating  an  intolerable  nuisance.  The  open 
^  ditch  passes  along — for  some  distance — one  of  the  most  public 
thoroughfares,  leading  from  a  neighboring  county  into  the  city 
of  Evansville,  and  persons  traveling  along  that  thoroughfare 
make  serious  complaints  and  appeal  to  us  for  an  abatement  of 
this  nuisance. 

The  people  have  been  indulgent  with  us  so  far,  feeling  that 
we  have  done  all  that  could  be  expected,  yet  they  make  serious 
threats  unless  relief  is  had  from  the  incoming  General  Assem¬ 
bly.  We  have  promised  them  that  such  relief  will  be  afforded 
this  winter.  Many  have  talked  of  injunctions,  suits  for  dam¬ 
ages,  fines  and  penalties. 

We,  knowing  the  condition  of  affairs,  can  not  blame  the  peo¬ 
ple  if  they  became  impatient.  We  have  avoided  such  action 
only  by  assuring  them  that  the  General  Assembly  will  do  some¬ 
thing  for  the  permanent  improvement  of  the  situation. 


CREMATORY. 


The  question  of  building  a  crematory  was  not  thorough 
vestigated  by  us  for  this  purpose,  owing  to  a  decision  ol 
Attorney- General,  who  said  the  money  appropriated  for  bui^ 
ing  a  sewer  could  not  be  expended  for  a  crematory.  A  firm  of-’ 
fered  to  build  a  crematory  on  the  same  plan  as  that  used  at  the 
World’s  Fair,  at  Chicago  in  1893,  and  to  guarantee  its  service¬ 
ableness  for  a  determined  period.  This,  however,  would  be  a 
constant  expense  to  the  State,  annually  estimated  at  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  or  more,  for  fuel,  labor,  material  and  chemicals. 
We,  therefore,  owing  to  the  expense  of  operation,  and  the  un¬ 
certainty  of  its  performing  what  might  be  expected  of  it,  have 
hesitated  to  recommend  the  building  of  a  crematory  for  this 
purpose. 


SUGGESTION. 

We,  without  specially  urging  any  plan  or  route  for  a  sewer 
for  this  Hospital,  would  present  the  following  suggestion  for 
your  consideration,  asking  that  you,  in  your  message,  present 
it  for  action  by  the  General  Assembly  : 

Let  a  special  committee,  composed  of  five  members  from 
both  branches,  be  appointed  to  consider  this  matter  by  visiting 
the  Hospital,  examining  the  diflPerent  routes  proposed  for  a 
sewer,  conferring  with  the  Board  of  Control  of  the  Hospital, 
consulting  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  and 
other  oflicers  of  the  city  government,  and  interviewing  the 
land  holders  living  along  the  dilferent  routes.  Empower  this 
committee  to  formulate  a  bill  to  be  presented  to  the  General 
Assembly,  accompanied  by  a  report  from  the  committee,  em¬ 
bodying  all  the  facts  and  points  in  connection  with  the  case. 

A  special  committee  could  accomplish  the  end  desired  in  two 
days’  time,  as  all  arrangements  could  be  made  before  their  ar¬ 
rival  for  meetings  and  conferences  with  other  oflicials  and  ex¬ 
amining  witnesses. 

This  committee  should  be  appointed  early  in  the  session  so 
that  ample  time  might  be  had  for  presenting  the  matter  before 
both  houses.  Immediate  action  is  what  is  not  only  needed  but 
demanded  by  the  people. 


3 


This  question  must  be  settled.  Agitation  is  one  of  the  most 
serviceable  weapons.  Strong  presentation  of  the  facts,  by  you 
to  the  General  Assembly,  we  think,  will  have  the  desired  effect. 

We  believe  that  the  appointment  of  a  special  committee  to 
take  charge  of  this  matter  is  the  only  possible  solution  of  the 
problem,  for  we  fear,  if  left  to  the  General  Committee  on  Be¬ 
nevolent  Institutions,  that  nothing  will  be  accomplished,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  they  have  only  a  limited  time  allowed  them, 
and  have  so  much  of  importance  to  attend  to. 

Very  respectfully, 

S.  B.  BOYD, 

J.  B.  WILSON, 

W.  L.  SWORMSTEDT, 

Board  of  Control. 


December  22,  1896. 


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\  # 


REPRINTED  REPORT  OF  1895,  SENT  TO 
GOVERNOR  AND  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 


A  REPOET  AND  PIISTOEY  OF  ^ITiE 
DISPOSAL  OF  THE  SEWAGE 


OF  THE 


SOUTHERN 

Indiana  Hospital  for  Insane, 


EVANSVILLE,  INDIANA. 


Zo  tbe  Governor. 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

WM.  B.  BURFORD,  CONTRACTOR  FOR  STATE  PRINTING  AND  BINDING. 

1895. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/reporthistoryofd1895indi 


THE  STATE  OF  INDIANA,  ] 
Executive  Department,  > 
February  6,  1895.  j 

Received  by  the  Governor,  examined  and  referred  to  the  Auditor  of  State  for 
verification  of  the  financial  statement. 


Returned  by  the  Auditor  of  State,  with  above  certificate,  and  transmitted  to 
Secretary  of  State  for  publication,  upon  the  order  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners 
of  Public  Printing  and  Binding. 

MYRON  D.  KING, 

Private  Secretary. 


Filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  February 
6,  1895. 

WILLIAM  D.  OWEN, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Received  the  within  report  and  delivered  to  the  printer,  February  6,  1895. 

J.  B.  MAYNARD, 
Clerk  Printing  Bureau. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Report  of  Board  of  Trustees . . . .  5 

Report  of  Medical  Superintendent  to  Board  of  Trustees.  11 

Suggestions  and  Plans — Board  of  State  Charities .  35 

Extract  of  the  Second  Biennial  Report  to  the  Governor.  38 

Report  of  A.  B.  Fitch  to  Board  of  Trustees .  .  41 

Report  of  Board  of  Health  to  Board  of  Public  Works....  46 
Proposition  of  Board  of  Trustees  to  Board  oh  Public 

Works .  47 

Opinion  of  City  Attorne}"  to  Board  of  Public  Works .  48 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES’  REPORT. 


Hon.  Claude  Matthews,  Governor  of  Indiana: 

Sir — In  our  present  biennial  report  we  suggested  the  advis¬ 
ability  of  submitting  a  separate  report  conceroing  the  sewage 
disposal  at  the  Hospital.  This  matter  is  somewhat  compli¬ 
cated,  and  in  order  to  give  a  full  and  comprehensive  account 
of  the  same  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  history  of  the  actions  of 
the  Board  from  the  opening  of  the  institution. 

When  the  institution  was  turned  over  to  the  custody  of  the 
Trustees  by  the  Construction  Board  there  had  been  practically 
nothing  done  to  properly  dispose  of  the  sewage. 

The  original  plan  as  contemplated  by  the  Construction  Board 
when  the  Hospital  was  located,  was  to  dispose  of  it  by  a  sys¬ 
tem  designated  as  “  intermittent  filtration.”  This  plan  was 
attempted,  but  the  Board  was  soon  convinced  of  its  impracti¬ 
cability. 

As  stated  in  our  first  biennial  report,  “  after  careful  consider¬ 
ation  of  the  subject,  the  Board  concluded  that  probably  the 
most  effective,  economical  and  least  offensive  place  for  sewage 
disposal  would  be  to  discharge  it  into  Pigeon  Creek,  by  a  sewer 
nearly  two  miles  in  length,”  and  took  immediate  steps  to  carry 
that  plan  into  effect.  The  right  of  way  was  secured  and  a  con¬ 
tract  let.  The  Auditor,  however,  declined  to  pay  any  war¬ 
rants  for  this  purpose  out  of  any  appropriation  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Trustees,  so  the  matter  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  the 
right  of  way  which  had  been  procured  lapsed  because  we  had 
no  money  to  pay  for  it. 

After  it  had  become  generally  known  that  it  was  contem¬ 
plated  to  construct  a  sewer  to  Pigeon  Creek,  a  strong  opposi¬ 
tion  manifested  itself  against  it,  which  induced  land  owners  to 
decline  to  give  us  the  right  of  way  over  any  desirable  route. 
We  were,  therefore,  compelled  to  continue  to  use  the  same  im¬ 
perfect  and  objectionable  plan  that  we  had  been  using,  against 


6 


the  continuance  of  which  the  adjoining  residents  were  enter¬ 
ing  a  vigorous  protest,  which  finally  culminated  in  an  injunc¬ 
tion  suit. 

In  the  summer  of  1891  the  Board  of  State  Charities,  at  the 
instance  of  Grovernor  llovey,  looked  into  the  matter  and  re¬ 
ported  to  him,  deprecating  the  proposed  plan  of  building  a 
closed  sewer  to  Pigeon  Creek,  and  saying  they  believed  that 
the  general  system  adopted  by  the  Construction  Board  was 
the  correct  one  and  if  properly  carried  out  would  prove  suc¬ 
cessful,  and  in  this  connection  recommended  some  change  and 
enlargement  of  the  old  system.  Out  of  deference  to  the  opin¬ 
ion  of  the  Governor  and  the  Board  of  State  Charities  we  carried 
out  their  suggestions  with  the  hope  that  it  might  solve  the 
difficulty.  This,  however,  proved  ineffectual. 

These  facts  were  set  out  reasonably  full  in  our  second 
biennial  report,  that  part  of  which  is  reproduced  as  an  ap¬ 
pendix.  It  will  be  observed  in  that  report  that  we  asked  for 
special  legislation  enabling  us  to  condemn  a  right  of  way  for 
sewage  purposes.  By  this  time  the  opposition  to  conducting 
the  sewage  to  Pigeon  Creek  had  become  more  fixed  and  deter¬ 
mined,  and  strong  influence  was  being  used  against  the  passage 
of  any  act  authorizing  condemnation. 

When  the  Senate  and  House  Committee  on  Benevolent  In¬ 
stitutions,  of  the  last  Legislature,  visited  the  institution  the 
Trustees  called  their  attention  to  the  entire  situation.  These 
committees  were  waited  upon  by  citizens,  who  urged  it  would 
be  detrimental  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  a  large  number  of 
persons  to  have  this  sewer  conducted  to  Pigeon  Creek,  and 
pointed  out  to  them  that  it  could  go  to  the  Ohio  liiver  or 
be  constructed  so  as  to  connect  with  the  system  of  sewers  of 
the  city  of  Evansville.  Others  opposed  the  route  to  the  Ohio 
River,  saying  it  was  impracticable  on  account  of  the  distance 
and  topography  of  the  ground,  and  also  that  it  would  be 
detrimental,  as  it  would  empty  into  the  river  above  the  city 
water  works. 

There  did  not  seem  at  that  time  to  be  any  serious  objections 
to  connecting  with  the  city  system  of  sewers,  but  it  was  sug¬ 
gested  that  there  was  not  sufficient  fall  to  render  this  route 
practicable. 

The  committee  readily  comprehended  that  the  situation  was 
perplexing,  and  suggested,  not  officially,  perhaps,  but  in  a 


7 


personal  way,  that  the  Trustees  procure  the  services  of  an 
experienced  and  competent  civil  engineer,  and  have  him  make 
such  surveys  as  were  necessary  to  determine  the  relative  merits 
of  the  proposed  routes,  and  their  approximate  cost,  and  make 
a  report  to  be  submitted  to  them.  Acting  on  this  suggestion, 
the  services  of  Capt.  A,  B.  Fitch,  of  Terre  Haute,  were  pro¬ 
cured,  who,  after  looking  into  the  situation  carefully  and  mak¬ 
ing  such  surveys  as  he  deemed  necessary,  made  a  report  and 
submitted  it  in  person  to  the  committee. 

Previous  to  this  time  a  bill  had  been  introduced  authorizing 
the  condemnation,  which  would  have  enabled  us  to  condemn 
land  for  a  right  of  way  over  either  of  these  routes.  The  pass¬ 
age  of  this  measure  was  being  strenuously  opposed  by  the 
people  who  opposed  the  Pigeon  Creek  route,  as  well  as  those 
who  opposed  the  route  to  the  Ohio  River,  with  a  prospect  of 
its  ultimate  defeat. 

AYhile  the  route  to  the  city  had  been  reported  as  feasible  by 
Captain  Fitch,  no  arrangement  had  been  made  with  the  city 
to  connect  with  its  sewers.  This  matter  was  taken  up  with 
the  city  authorities,  and  the  Board  of  Health,  Board  of  Public 
Works,  and  the  Mayor,  who  visited  the  institution,  looked 
into  the  situation  carefully,  examined  the  route  proposed  by 
Captain  Fitch,  and  proposed  that  we  might  connect  with  the 
Chestnut  Street  sewer  from  its  present  termination  to  Ken¬ 
tucky  Avenue.  This  seemed  to  be  a  practicable  and  harmo¬ 
nious  disposal  of  the  whole  affair,  and  the  most  advisable  thing 
to  do. 

These  facts  were  submitted  to  the  Committee  on  Benevolent 
Institutions,  and  the  appropriation  for  constructing  the  sewer, 
which  had  been  reported  by  the  committee  at  a  somewhat  less 
sum,  was  increased  to  ^15,000,  that  it  might  be  sufficient  to 
construct  a  sewer  on  this  route  as  estimated  by  Captain  Fitch, 
and  also  construct  the  extension  of  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer, 
as  indicated  by  the  city  authorities. 

However,  it  was  necessary  to  have  the  pending  condemnation 
measure  passed  in  order  that  we  might  procure  the  right  of 
way  over  this  route.  The  parties  who  had  been  opposing  the 
passage  for  this  purpose  now  urged  no  objections  to  its  passage, 
but  were  unwilling  to  allow  it  to  pass  without  its  containing 
such  provisions  as  would  render  it  inoperative  on  either  of  the 
other  routes. 


8 


The  following  amendnaent  was  added: 

'^Provided,  That  no  such  sewer  shall  have  an  outlet  into  any  creek  or  river 
within  ten  miles  above  the  corporate  limits  of  any  city  having  a  population  of 
more  than  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  according  to  the  last  preceding  census^ 
where  such  creek  or  river  flows  through  or  along  the  corporate  limits  of  any 
such  city.” 

(See  Acts  of  the  Greneral  Assembly  of  1893,  p.  286.) 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  act  did  not  only  fail  to  author¬ 
ize  us  to  condemn  property  on  either  of  .the  other  routes,  but 
prohibited  us  from  even  leasing  or  purchasing  property  over 
either  of  them,  so  the  only  solution  left  open  was  to  carry  into 
effect  the  plan  to  connect  with  the  city  sewer. 

Within  a  few  days  after  this,  and  before  the  matter  was 
finally  closed  up,  a  new  charter  was  granted  the  city  and  the 
personnel  of  the  authorities  changed.  The  matter,  therefore, 
had  to  be  taken  up  with  the  neAV  authorities.  By  this  time 
the  citizens  residing  along  the  line  of  the  Chestnut  Street 
sewer  became  convinced  that  this  arrangement  would  be  detri¬ 
mental  to  their  health  and  comfort,  and  entered  a  vigorous 
protest  against  the  city  authorities  carrying  out  this  arrange¬ 
ment.  The  Board  of  Health  was  appealed  to,  who  were  at 
first  inclined  to  oppose  the  scheme,*but  we  finally,  after  some 
months,  induced  them  to  further  and  more  carefully  consider 
it,  and  after  doing'soTthey^reported  that  under  certain  condi¬ 
tions  it  would  not  be  detrimental  to  the  public  health,  but 
would  be  beneficial  to  the  sewer. 

On  the  evening  of  December  1,  3  893,  there  was  held  a  joint 
meeting  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  the  Board  of  Health, 
the  Mayor  and  this^Board  of  Trustees.  It  was  then  indicated 
to  this  Board  that  if  we  would  extend  the  sewer  as  originally 
contemplated,  and  would  Jagree  to  comply  with  certain  con¬ 
ditions  as  suggested  .by  the^Board  of  Health,  permission  to 
connect  would  be  granted.  We  made  them  such  a  proposition 
in  writing  (w'hich  is  set  out  in  full  in  appendix),  which  was  to 
be  considered  by  the’^Board  of  Public  Works  at  their  regular 
meeting  to  be  held  the  next  day. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  the  question 
of  the  legal  rights  of  the  city  to  grant  the  use  of  its  sewer  was 
raised.  It  was  then  referred  to  the  City  Attorney  for  his 
opinion,  who,  on  December’9,'gendered  an  opinion  in  which  he 
stated  : 


9 


“  Without  special  legislation  you  are  not  authorized  to  permit 
the  use  of  any  of  the  sewers  of  the  city  except  for  the  purpose 
for  which  they  are  constructed  ;  namely,  the  draiuage  of  the 
city/’ 

A  full  text  of  this  opinion  will  be  found  in  the  appendix. 

As  formerly  remarked,  the  limitation  in  the  act  of  the  Legis¬ 
lature  prevented  our  availing  ourselves  of  either  of  the  other 
routes,  and  this  opinion  ended  any  hope  of  carrying  into  efiect 
any  arrangement  with  the  city.  From  this  it  will  be  observed 
that  every  avenue  was  closed  against  us,  and  we  were  com¬ 
pelled  to  continue  the  unsatisfactory  and  ineffectual  system 
which  we  had  been  pursuing  and -against  which  our  neighbors 
had  entered  such  vigorous  complaint  and  the  court  had  granted 
an  injunction.  We  have  been  relying  upon  the  forbearance  of 
our  neighbors  and  the  leniency  of  the  court  not  to  prohibit  us 
from  doing  this  until  the  matter  could  be  submitted  to  this 
Legislature  and  some  legislation  procured  that  would  relieve 
us  from  the  embarrassing  situation. 

For  a  more  detailed  statement  of  the  entire  situation  we 
submit  a  report  made  to  us  by  the  Medical  Superintendent,  in 
connection  with  which  is  also  submitted  the  report  of  Capt. 
A.  B.  Fitch,  as  well  as  other  reports  and  communications, 
which  may  serve  to  give  a  more  comprehensive  and  intelligent 
understanding  of  the  entire  situation. 

We  would  respectfully  recommend  that  the  act  passed  by  the 
last  Legislature  should  be  so  amended  as  to  authorize  this 
Board  to  condemn  a  right  of  way  over  such  routes  as  in  their 
judgment  may  be  deemed  most  practicable,  and  that  an  act 
also  be  passed  which  would  authorize  the  city  of  Evansville  to 
allow  a  connection  with  their  system  of  sewers. 

As  we  were  unable  to  construct  the  sewer,  the  appropriation 
of  115,000  made  for  that  purpose  was  returned  to  the  State 
Treasurer.  All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

P.  II.  BLUE, 

W.  L.  SWORMSTEDT, 

S.  B.  BOYD, 


Trustees, 


DISPOSAL  OF  THE  SEWAGE 


AT 

THE  SOUTHERN 


Indiana  Hospital  for  Insane. 


REPORT  OF 

The  Medical  Superintendent 

TO  THE 

BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES. 


EVANSVILLE,  INDIANA, 


P,  H.  BLUE, 

S.  B,  BOYD, 

W.  L.  SWORMSTEDT, 

T  rustees 
/ 

DR.  A.  J.  THOMAS, 

Medical  Superintendent. 


DISPOSAL  OF  THE  SEWAGE  AT  THE  SOUTH¬ 
ERN  INDIANA  HOSPITAL  FOR  INSANE. 


P.  II.  Blue,  S.  B.  Boyd,  W.  L.  Swormstedt, 

Trustees : 

Gentlemen — Iq  giving  a  history  of  this  question  we  must  go 
back  to  the  time  when  this  Hospital  and  its  appurtenances 
were  transferred  by  the  Board  of  Construction  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees.  This  transfer  took  place  in  the  summer  of  1890,  and 
the  Medical  Superintendent  entered  upon  and  took  charge  of 
the  premises  July  1,  1890. 

The  original  idea  of  the  Board  of  Construction  for  the  dis¬ 
posal  of  the  sewage  was  by  the  “intermittent  infiltration  ” 
method ;  that  is,  allowing  the  sewage  to  be  transferred  to  a 
certain  locality  of  the  premises  and  there  allowed  to  distribute 
itself  over  the  ground  by  means  of  ditches,  gates  and  locks 
especially  prepared  for  this  purpose.  But  the  Board  of  Con¬ 
struction  had  made  no  effort  to  carry  out  this  plan,  and  when 
I  first  came  to  the  Hospital  the  outlet  of  the  sewerage  system 
was  within  one  hundred  yards  of  the  windows  of  my  office. 

This  plan  was  effectually  tried  here,  but  it  would  not  serve 
our  purpose  satisfactorily  on  account  of  the  soil  not  possess¬ 
ing  sufficient  absorptive  powers.  Pools  of  water  remained  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  in  hot  weather  the  deposit  was 
disagreeable  to  the  smell  and  dangerous  to  health. 

Finding  it  impracticable  to  take  care  of  the  outffow  of  sew¬ 
age  by  this  plan,  we  extended  the  open  ditch  to  connect  with 
a  large  county  ditch,  and  allowed  the  sewage  to  be  carried  from 
there  along  the  highway  and  through  neighboring  lands  to 
the  bottoms,  which  occasionally  were  ffooded  with  the  back¬ 
water  from  Pigeon  Creek. 

Before  this  an  effort  was  made  to  carry  the  sewage  to  Pigeon 
Creek,  this  being  a  very  suitable  and  practicable  route.  Sur¬ 
veys  were  made,  rights  of  way  were  secured,  and  a  contract 


13 


was  let  and  some  material  purchased  and  distributed  along  the 
route.  At  this  period  the  Auditor  of  State  refused  to  allow 
our  warrants  for  such  expenses,  and  all  work  was  suspended. 
The  deeds  to  the  rights  of  way  were  canceled  and  a  cessation 
of  all  work  occurred.  In  addition  there  was  great  objection 
upon  the  part  of  persons  who  lived  along  the  creek,  and  cer¬ 
tain  newspapers  in  the  city  also  opposed  the  project  of  empty¬ 
ing  the  sewage  into  Pigeon  Creek  for  sanitary  reasons.  These 
objections  were  enirely  without  foundation,  as  there  would 
have  been  no  danger  to  the  health  of  the  locality. 

This  route  was  a  good  one,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  deplored 
that  it  is  not  now  in  operation.  Much  of  this  clamor  origi¬ 
nated  through  ignorance  and  prejudice.  When  I  say  igno¬ 
rance  I  mean  that  the  objectors  were  not  fully  informed  as  to 
the  condition  of  affairs;  I  do  not  mean  to  be  invidious  or  im¬ 
polite  when  i  use  the  word  ignorance.  Others  were  formerly 
opposed  to  this  site  for  the  .location  of  the  Hospital,  and,  not¬ 
withstanding  that  tne  Hospital  was  completed  and  in  operation, 
this  prejudice  was  allowed  to  manifest  itself.  We  then  fell 
back  upon  our  original  method,  which  was  a  makeshift. 

In  the  summer  of  1891  a  committee  from  the  Board  of  State 
Charities,  with  its  Secretary,  visited  the  Hospital  and  thor¬ 
oughly  examined  the  condition  of  the  sewer.  This  committee 
made  a  report  to  the  Governor,  making  certain  recommenda¬ 
tions.  This  report  and  recommendations  were  transmitted  to 
us  by  the  Governor,  with  the  opinion  that  we  should  give  the 
system- in  use,  with  certain  extensions,  a  further  trial,  express¬ 
ing  the  belief  that  it  would  be  successful.  Through  respect 
for  the  opinion  of  the  Governor  and  the  Bqard  of  State  Chari¬ 
ties  we  accepted  this  advice  and  made  another  attempt  at  a 
successful  solution  of  the  problem,  but  it  was  a  failure. 

All  this  time  our  neighbors  and  the  people  who  passed  in 
scores  daily  along  the  highway  where  our  sewer  outffow  was 
carried  in  a  shallow  open  ditch  were  making  loud  and  bitter 
complaints  over  the  nuisance  which  they  were  compelled  to 
endure.  This  state  of  affairs  was  not  pleasant.  We  could  see 
the  justice  of  the  complaints  made,  but  we  were  unable  to 
improve  matters.  Finally  an  injunction  was  asked  for,  and 
the  Superior  Court  of  Vanderburgh  County  granted  it,  and 
also  imposed  a  fine  upon  us  for  maintaining  a  nuisance  which 
was  a  menace  to  the  health  of  the  community. 

2^ 


14 


The  route  to  Pigeon  Creek  had  many  advantages.  The  dis¬ 
tance  was  not  great,  the  fall  was  amply  sufficient,  and  the  sewer 
line  did  not  pass  through  any  land  which  would  cause  the 
owner  loss  or  inconvenience.  From  the  place  where  the  sew¬ 
age  would  enter  the  creek  to  its  mouth  there  were  very  few 
people  who  lived  immediately  on  its  bank.  In  the  city  limits 
the  creek  was  used  as  a  general  cesspool  for  the  discharge  of 
sewers  and  every  kind  of  matter.  A  sufficient  current,  except 
in  one  place,  could  have  been  maintained  to  carry  oft'  the 
sewage  to  the  Ohio  River  below  the  city,  where  the  creek 
enters  this  river.  The  exception  was  a  locality  where  a  mass 
of  rock  for  several  hundred  feet  elevated  the  bed  of  the  creek, 
leaving  in  low  water  a  stoppage  of  the  ftow ;  but  it  was  agreed 
that  this  obstruction,  and  all  others,  would  be  removed.  Our 
arguments  and  requests  met  with  no  favor,  and  we  retired 
from  the  contest  with  much  undeserved  odium  resting  upon 
ourselves. 

Finally,  appreciating  the  fact  that  nothing  could  be  accom¬ 
plished  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  you  wisely  determined  to 
await  the  convening  of  the  next  General  Assembly  and  ask 
advice  and  aid  from  it. 

This  body  met  in  January,  1893,  and  during  the  month  of 
February  the  Committee  on  Benevolent  Institutions  from  both 
Houses,  accompanied  by  many  other  legislators,  visited  the 
Hospital.  These  gentlemen  investigated  the  sewer  question 
fully,  and  inspected  the  locality  of  the  sewer  and  received  all 
the  information  in  your  possession. 

Upon  the  suggestion  of  this  committee  and  other  members 
of  the  General  Assembly  you  proceeded  to  have  a  competent 
engineer,  Capt.  A.  B.  Fitch,  of  Terre  Haute,  make  a  survey  of 
three  different  routes  by  which  the  sewage  might  be  taken 
from  the  Hospital,  and,  upon  the  presentation  of  this  survey 
to  the  General  Assembly,  an  effort  would  be  made  to  enact  a  law 
which  would  give  you  relief  from  the  serious  dilemma  in  which 
you  were  placed.  Accordingly,  a  law  was  passed  which  gave 
you  the  permission  to  connect  with  the  system  of  sewerage 
in  the  city  of  Evansville. 

The  three  routes  surveyed  by  Captain  Fitch  are  known  as — 

First.  Pigeon  Creek  route. 

^Second.  Chestnut  Street  route. 

Third,.  Ohio  River  route. 


15 


The  General  Assembly  appropriated  the  sum  of  $15,000  to  be 
expended  for  the  purpose  of  completing  our  sewer  system. 

At  once  the  practicability  of  the  route  to  the  city  connect¬ 
ing  at  Chestnut  Street  with  the  city  system  of  sewerage  com¬ 
mended  itself  to  you,  as  it  was  well  understood  that  you  were, 
by  the  law  passed,  excluded  from  Pigeon  Creek.  This  route 
was  direct,  the  fall  was  sufficient  and  the  cost  of  construction 
would  not  be  extravagant.  As  soon  as  it  was  publicly  known 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Board  to  connect  with  the 
city  sewers  the  same  opposition  was  aroused  among  the  people 
as  was  the  case  when  it  was  proposed  to  take  the  sewage  to 
Pigeon  Creek.  The  claim  was  made  that  the  emptying  of  our 
sewage  into  the  city  sewers  would  breed  disease,  death,  and  de¬ 
struction.  Some  said  the  germs  from  our  sewage  would  pro¬ 
duce  insanity  in  the  people  who  lived  along  the  line  of  the 
Chestnut  Street  sewer.  Many  prominent  and  intelligent  citi¬ 
zens  were  deeply  aroused,  and  expressed  their  indignation  and 
opposition  in  very  severe  tones. 

This  was  simply  a  repetition  of  what  we  had  heard  before. 
In  spite  of  all  this  determined  opposition  we  felt  that  the  effort 
should  be  made  to  settle  satisfactorily  this  sewage  question. 

As  I  have  said  before,  the  objections  to  our  sewage  entering 
the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  were  not  well  founded.  I  estimate 
that  the  amount  of  water  thrown  into  this  sewer  each  day 
would  average  forty  thousand  gallons  and  the  amount  of  fecal 
matter  would  be  much  less  than  five  hundred  pounds  each  day. 
This  fecal  matter  before  it  left  the  Hospital  would  be  very 
thoroughly  dissolved  and  in  an  almost  complete  state  of  sus¬ 
pension,  and  by  the  time  it  reached  the  sewer  at  Chestnut 
Street  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  piece  as  large  as  a  pea. 
The  amount  of  water  emptied  into  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer 
from  here  would  keep  up  a  continuous  stream  of  water  six 
inches  deep. 

Then  we  agreed  to  throw  into  the  sewer  from  our  salt  well, 
eighteen  hundred  feet  deep,  one  hundred  thousand  gallons 
three  times  a  week,  or  as  often  as  might  be  agreed  upon,  in 
order  that  the  sewer  might  be  kept  pure  and  clean  at  all  times. 
These  advantages  would  place  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  in 
good  condition  at  all  times. 

The  truth  is  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  would  be  vastly  im¬ 
proved  by  the  influx  of  our  water  from  the  Hospital  in  such 


16 


quantities  as  stated.  It  is  seldom  there  is  a  running  stream  of 
water  in  that  sewer  except  when  there  is  rain  or  when  the 
sewers  are  flushed  by  the  tire  department.  The  sewer  is  there¬ 
fore  dry,  and  the  sediment  left  is  then  likely  to  become  pulver¬ 
ized  and  taken  up  by  the  winds  and  air  currents  from  the  man 
holes  and  scattered  broadcast  over  the  city.  If  there  is  any 
truth  in  the  theory  of  germs  Irom  such  a  source  poisoning  the 
atmosphere  and  producing  disease  in  people  a  dry  sewer  is  the 
most  favorable  nest  from  which  disease  germs  may  be  carried 
to  the  upper  air  and  cause  sickness ;  but  if  a  running  stream  of 
water  six  inches  in  depth  is  kept  continually  in  a  sewer  the 
pipes  are  kept  clean  and  pure,  and  the  chance  of  propagation 
of  disease  very  much  diminished  or  entirely  destroyed. 

As  soon  as  it  Was  known  that  some  kind  of  arrangement 
had  been  entered  into  by  which  we  might  use  Chestnut  Street 
sewer,  even  after  the  public  offlcials  had  agreed  to  such  a  propo¬ 
sition,  the  opposition  was  crystallized,  the  newspapers  opened 
the  batteries,  public  meetings  were  held,  and  personal  appeals 
were  made  to  the  public  officials,  and  the  result  was  that  all 
negotiations  ceased  and  we  were  left  without  any  improved 
plan  of  sewage  disposal. 


17 


NEWSPAPER  COMMENTS. 


EVANSVILLE  COURIER,  DECEMBER  2,  1893. 

WANT  SEWER  CONNECTION— INSANE  HOSPITAL  TRUSTEES  PRE 

SENT  A  NEW  PLAN. 

PHYSICIANS  AND  HEALTH  BOARD  OFFICERS  SAY  IF  IT  IS  CARRIED 

OUT  THERE  WILL  BE  NO  DANGER  TO  THE  HEALTH  OF  THE]  CITY 

BY  CONNECTING  AVITH  THE  CHESTNUT  STREET  SEWER. 

“A  joint  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  Board  of 
Health  and  the  Trustees  of  the  Southern  Hospital  for  Insane 
was  held  last  evening  at  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Public 
Works  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  proposition  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  Hospital  for  constructing  a  sewer  from  that  in¬ 
stitution  to  connect  with  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer. 

“Besides  the  Board  of  Public  Works  there  were  in  attend¬ 
ance  Dr.  A.  J.  Thomas  and  P.  B.  Triplett,  of  the  Hospital ;  P. 
B.  Blue,  S.  Gimbel  and  W.  L.  Swormstedt,  Trustees;  E.  P. 
Bicknell,  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities ;  Drs.  A.  M. 
Owen,  Edwin  Walker,  George  P.  Hodson,  W.  S.  Pollard,  Lud. 
Worsham  and  John  E.  Glover. 

“  Since  the  opening  of  the  Hospital  a  great  deal  of  complaint 
has  been  made  on  account  of  proper  sewerage.  Various  prop¬ 
ositions  have  been  made  for  drainage  of  offal  from  the  institu¬ 
tion,  but  they  were  defeated  either  by  objections  of  property- 
owners  along  the  proposed  routes  of  drainage  or  by  the  im¬ 
practicability  of  the  plans. 

“  The  most  practical  and  least  expensive  plan  offered  was  the 
construction  of  a  pipe  sewer  to  connect  with  the  Chestnut 
Street  sewer.  This  plan  also  met  with  objections  on  the 
grounds  that  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  city  would  be  en¬ 
dangered  by  this  system. 

“The  Board  of  Trustees  recently  determined  on  a  plan  Avhich 
will  likely  finally  end  the  trouble.  They  offer  a  proposition  to 
construct  an  eight- inch  pipe  sewer  from  the  Hospital  premises 
to  a  point  on  Kentucky  Avenue  and  from  that  point  to  build  a 
brick  sewer  to  connect  with  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer,  and 


IS 


that  the  sewer  shall  be  automatically  flushed  at  the  expense  of 
the  Hospital. 

“  Drs.  A,  M.  Owen,  who  lives  on  Chestnut  Street,  Lud  Wor¬ 
sham,  John  F.  Glover,  W.  S.  Pollard  and  others  were  of  the 
opinion  that  if  the  Hospital  authorities  carry  out  the  plan  pro¬ 
posed,  all  danger  from  a  sanitary  point  of  view  would  be  re¬ 
moved. 

“  The  Trustees  of  the  Hospital  and  the  Board  of  Health  will 
meet  with  the  Board  of  Public  Works  this  afternoon,  when  the 
proposition  will  be  formally  presented.” 


EVANSVILLE  COURIER,  DECEMBER  3,  1893. 

HEALTH  BOARD  SA^S  O.  K.— MEMBERS  INDORSE  THE  INSANE 

HOSPITAL  SEWAGE  PLAN. 

RESOLUTIONS  PRESENTED  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  WORKS,  THE  QUES¬ 
TION  TO  BE  FINALLY  PASSED  UPON  TUESDAY  AFTERNOON — BOARD 

MEETING  YESTERDAY. 

“The  Board  of  Public  Works  met  in  regular  session  at  3 
o’clock  yesterday  afternoon.  In  the  absence  of  Elmer  Clarke, 
Clerk  of  the  Board,  City  Clerk  Fred.  Geiger  recorded  the 
minutes. 

“  The  following  proposition  of  the  plan  for  the  disposal  of 
sewerage  from  the  Southern  Hospital  for  Insane  was  submitted 
to  the  Board  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Asylum : 

“  We  propose  to  build  an  extension  of  Chestnut  Street  sewer 
from  its  present  termination  to  Kentucky  Avenue,  near  the 
city  of  Evansville.  The  dimensions  of  the  sewer  to  be  from 
the  present  termination  of  the  sewer  to  Bland  Avenue  three 
feet  by  four  feet  in  diameter,  from  Bland  Avenue  to  Kentucky 
Avenue  two  and  one-half  feet  by  three  feet  in  diameter;  the 
sewer  to  be  constructed  of  brick  similar  in  character  to  that 
now  upon  said  Chestnut  Street  sewer.  From  Kentucky 
Avenue  to  the  Hospital  a  stone  drain  pipe  of  not  less  than 
eight  inches  in  diameter  be  laid  on  a  proper  grade  to  make 
the  best  flow  that  can  be  obtained.  At  the  Hospital  pro¬ 
vision  will  be  made  for  erecting  a  tank  of  a  capacity  of  not 
less  than  10,000  gallons  for  flushing  the  sewer  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  prevent  accumulations  of  any  kind  in  the 
pipes,  and  such  flushing  shall  take  place  three  times  a  week. 


19 


and  ot'tener  if  required  by  the  Board  of  Public  Works.  We 
propose  to  turu  into  the  sewer  the  flow  of  the  salt- well  now 
upon  the  Hospital  grounds,  discharging  at  what  we  believe  a 
conservative  estimate  not  lees  than  a  hundred  thousand  gal¬ 
lons  of  salt  water  per  day.  The  sewer  pipe  to  be  built  in  an 
approved  manner  and  provided  with  proper  man-holes  and 
appliances  to  keep  the  same  free  from  obstructions  or  accumu¬ 
lations.” 

Regarding  the  above  proposition  the  Board  of  Health  sub¬ 
mitted  the  iollowing  resolutions  to  the  Board  of  Public  Works  : 

“Whereas,  The  Board  of  Public  Works  has  referred  to  the 
Board  of  Health  and  Charities  the  proposition  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  Insane  Hospital,  and  request  of  said  Trustees  for  per¬ 
mission  to  tap  Chestnut  IStreet  sewer;  for  the  opinion  of  said 
Board  of  Health  as  to  the  influence  of  granting  said  permis¬ 
sion  upon  the  public  health  along  the  line  of  Chestnut  Street 
sewer. 

“  Whereas,  The  proposition  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Insane 
Hospital,  first,  that  the  sewer  shall  be  extended  to  Kentucky 
Avenue,  at  the  expense  of  the  Hospital ;  second,  that  an  eight- 
inch,  or  larger,  pipe  will  be  used  to  carry  the  sewage  to  the 
sewer.  Furthermore,  that  no  vegetable  matter,  or  other  matter 
that  can  not  be  suspended  or  dissolved  in  water,  shall  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  enter  the  Hospital  sewer;  third,  in  addition  to  the 
water  necessary  to  carry  oft'  waste  matter  from  said  Hospital, 
there  shall  be  a  pipe  connecting  the  artesian  well  of  salt  water 
constantly  pouring  into  the  sewer  leading  from  the  Hospital. 
Also,  a  tank  will  be  erected,  with  a  capacity  of  not  less  than 
10,000  gallons,  which  will  be  discharged  intermittently  into 
the  sewer  leading  from  the  Hospital  three  times  a  week,  or 
oftener  if  required  by  the  Board  of  Health,  between  the  hours 
of  9  and  12  o’clock  p.  m.  ;  be  it 

Resolved^  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Board  of  Health  and 
Charities  that  if  the  above  conditions  be  complied  with,  the 
use  made  of  Chestnut  Street  sewer  will  not  be  detrimental  to 
health,  but  will  be  beneficial  to  the  sewer,  as  the  quantity  of 
water,  especially  the  salt  water,  will  keep  it  clean  and  free  from 
fermenting  and  decomposing  matter.” 

The  proposition  was  referred  to  a  committee  composed  of 
the  Mayor,  City  Attorney  and  Board  of  Public  Works,  to  re¬ 
port  at  a  special  meeting  to  be  held  Tuesday  afternoon  at  2 
o’clock. 


20 


EVANSVILLE  COURIER,  DECEMBER  4,  1898. 

SHOULD  HAVE  COMPENSATION. 

“  The  proposition  made  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Hospital  for 
the  Insane  to  tap  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  with  a  telescope 
switch  is  one  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  ‘Courier,’  ought  to  be 
promptly  rejected.  Let  us  review  the  history  of  the  location 
ol  the  Hospital,  for  it  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  counter¬ 
proposition  which  we  think  the  city  authorities  should  make 
and  firmly  adhere  to. 

“  When  Governor  Porter  and  his  associates  of  the  Commis¬ 
sion  appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  select  sites  for  the  new 
insane  hospitals  ordered  to  be  constructed  visited  Evansville, 
they  were  offered  several  desirable  locations.  All  except  Gar¬ 
vin’s  Park  and  the  present  site  were  susceptible  to  natural 
drainage,  and  could  easily  be  supplied  with  an  abundance  of 
water.  The  price  placed  upon  Garvin’s  Park  and  its  prox¬ 
imity  to  the  city  were  insuperable  objections  to  it,  and  the 
Commissioners  proceeded  to  locate  the  Hospital  on  the  How¬ 
ard  farm,  despite  the  fact  that  it  was  the  only  available  loca¬ 
tion  that  did  not  admit  of  drainage.  They  made  this  selection 
over  the  earnest  protest  of  the  press  of  the  city  and  the  city 
authorities.  They  were  told  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
drain  the  Hospital  premises  without  establishing  a  nuisance  in 
the  neighborhood ;  or,  if  drained  by  a  sewer  to  the  Ohio  River 
above  the  town,  without  polluting  the  city’s  water  supply.  It 
was  pointed  out  to  them  that  a  sewer  to  the  Ohio  River  below 
town  was  impracticable  except  by  utilizing  Pigeon  Creek,  and 
that  property  holders  abutting  this  stream  would  undoubtedly 
use  every  legal  means  to  prevent  its  use  for  this  purpose.  All 
of  these  protests  were  scouted.  One  of  the  Commissioners, 
when  the  objection  was  raised  that  a  sewer  emptying  into  the 
Ohio  above  the  city  would  pollute  our  water  supply,  contempt¬ 
uously  remarked  that  running  water  purified  itself  in  a  flow  of 
two  or  three  miles,  and  anyway  the  necessities  of  the  State  of 
Indiana  were  superior  to  those  of  the  city  of  Evansville,  and 
that  if  the  latter  found  the  water  supply  impure  it  would  have 
to  move  the  intake  out  of  reach,  and  suggested  that  the  water 
of  Green  River  was  better  than  the  Ohio  water  and  that  the 
eity  might  arrange  to  take  its  water  from  that  source.  Not 


21 


the  least  consideration  was  paid  to  the  health  and  comfort  of 
the  people  of  this  city,  and  there  was  general  indignation  at 
the  heartless  indifference  to  their  welfare  manifested  by  the 
Commissioners.  The  Hospital  was  located  on  the  Howard  farm, 
and  preparations  were  made  for  its  drainage  by  ditching  re¬ 
gardless  of  the  protests  of  the  neighborhood.  Twenty  thou¬ 
sand  dollars  were  wasted  in  attempting  to  get  water  where  the 
experience  of  the  inhabitants  within  a  radius  of  six  miles  had 
proven  that  water  could  not  be  had.  The  Commissioners  were 
told  time  and  again  that  every  dollar  spent  in  boring  for  water 
on  the  level  selected  by  them  was  certain  to  be  wasted,  but  still 
the  work  went  on  until  $20,000  had  been  squandered,  and  then 
came  a  sharp  protest  from  the  State  authorities.  Then  Mr. 
Grote  was  engaged  to  bore  for  water  on  the  condition  that  if 
he  did  not  succeed  he  was  to  receive  nothing  and  if  he  did  he 
was  to  receive  a  few  hundred  dollars  (less  than  a  thousand). 
Of  course  he  succeeded.  His  large  experience  in  boring  wells,, 
and  the  universal  testimony  of  the  neighborhood,  guided  him 
to  seek  water  on  the  lower  level,  and  he  found  it  in  great 
abundance. 

“  But  the  drainage  problem  was  still  unsolved.  Indeed, 
there  was  but  one  solution,  and  that  was  to  drain  through  the 
city  of  Evansville,  either  by  a  newly  constructed  sewer  or  by 
tapping  one  of  the  sewers  already  built.  The  tirst  Board  of 
Trustees  suggested  the  tapping  of  Walnut  or  Chestnut  Street 
sewers,  and  the  present  Board  has  made  a  written  proposi¬ 
tion  to  tap  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  under  the  following 
conditions : 

“They  propose  to  extend  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  from  its 
p)resent  source  to  Kentucky  Avenue  on  the  telescope  plan. 
The  d  imensions  as  far  as  Bland  Avenue  are  to  be  8  feet  by  4 
feet  in  diameter.  From  Bland  Avenue  to  Kentucky  Avenue 
the  dimensions  are  to  be  decreased  to  feet  by  3  feet.  These 
telescopic  sewer  joints  are  to  be  constructed  of  ‘brick  similar 
in  character  to  that  now  upon  said  Chestnut  Street  sewer,’ 
whatever  that  may  mean.  From  Kentucky  Avenue  to  the 
hospital  there  is  to  be  a  ‘stone  drain  pipe  of  not  less  than  8 
inches  in  diameter,  laid  on  a  proper  grade  to  make  the  best 
flow  that  can  be  obtained,’  which  might  and  probably  would 
be  a  very  sluggish  flow,  leaving  concentrated  stinks  all  along 
its  route.  To  sugar  their  bait  the  Board  of  Trustees  promise 


22 


to  erect  ‘a  tank  of  a  capacity  not  less  than  10,000  gallons  for 
flashing  the  sewer  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  accumula¬ 
tions  of  any  kind  in  the  pipes,  three  times  a  week,  or  oftener 
if  the  Board  of  Public  Works  require  it,  and  to  turn  into  the 
sewer  the  flow  of  the  salt  well  now  upon  the  hospital  grounds,’ 
which,  they  think,  discharges  not  less  than  100,000  gallons  of 
water  per  day. 

“  The  Board  of  Health  expresses  the  opinion  that  this  tri¬ 
weekly  flushing  of  the  sewer  and  the  salt  water  waste  will  re¬ 
move  all  hygienic  objections  to  draining  the  Hospital  through 
Chestnut  Street  sewer. 

“  The  ‘Courier’  has  never  opposed  the  drainage  of  the  Hospi¬ 
tal  through  one  of  our  established  sewers  on  sanitary  grounds- 
But  it  is  to  be  said  of  this  part  of  the  proposition  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  that  no  matter  where  they  empty  their  sew¬ 
age  they  will  run  their  salt  water  waste  through  it  and,  owing 
to  the  slight  fall  they  will  have  to  use  artificial  accessories, such 
as  the  10,000-gallon  tank  they  piopose,  to  accelerate  the  flow. 
The  danger  of  ‘choking’  will  occur  only  in  that  part  of  the 
drain  running  from  the  Hospital  to  the  city  corporation  line, 
and  the  Hospital  alone  is  interested  in  keeping  that  part  of  the 
sewer  clear  of  all  obstructions.  This  part  of  their  proposition, 
therefore,  is  unworthy  of  consideration  as  an  argument  for 
giving  the  State  of  Indiana  free  use  of  our  present  city  sewer. 

“The  ‘Courier’  believes  that  the  proposition  as  a  whole 
should  be  rejected,  principally  for  the  reason  that  it  gives  the 
city  of  Evansville  no  advantages  whatever  from  this  pro¬ 
posed  additional  and  very  heavy  tax  on  Chestnut  Street  sewer. 
There  is  no  suggestion  by  the  Board  that  the  State  shall  for¬ 
ever  keep  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  in  proper  repair — a  very 
small  compensation  for  the  invaluable  right  of  way  through 
the  city — invaluable  because  the  Hospital  can  not  be  drained 
except  by  carrying  its  offal  under  some  one  or  more  of  our 
streets.  The  Board  do  not  propose  to  pay  the  entire  cost  of 
the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  to  date,  which  would  be  little  enough. 
The  naked  proposition  is  that  if  the  city  of  Evansville  will 
permit  the  State  of  Indiana  to  use  a  sewer  paid  for  by  the  tax¬ 
payers  of  Evansville,  the  State  will  take  all  necessary  measures 
to  keep  clear  of  obstructions  the  telescopic  connection  which 
is  absolutely  essential  to  the  drainage  of  the  Hospital.  That  is 
about  the  thing  the  people  have  become  accustomed  to  in 


23 


dealing  with  those  who  must  have  the  use  of  city  property  to 
put  their  enterprises  on  a  satisfactory  and  profitable  basis.  It 
is  the  old  spirit  of  treating  city  property  as  valueless,  and  giv¬ 
ing  away  everything  that  has  cost  the  tax-payer  sweat  and  toil 
to  construct. 

‘‘The  ‘Courier’  solemnly  protests  against  it  now,  as  it  has 
always  done.  We  protest  against  the  tapping  of  any  sewer 
now  in  existence  by  the  State  of  Indiana.  We  have  a  right  to 
expect  of  our  city  authorities  that  the  city  of  Evansville  shall 
reap  some  advantage  from  the  proposition  in  which  the  State 
placed  itself  when  it  located  the  Hospital  against  the  united 
protests  of  the  press,  the  people  and  the  city  authorities.  We 
have  a  right  to  expect  that  the  Mayor  and  the  Board  of  Public 
Works  will  not  assent  to  the  impudent  proposition  now  made 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  that  they  will  notify  the  Board 
that  the  State  must  build  its  own  sewer,  and  if  it  comes  through 
the  city,  as  it  must,  upon  the  conditions  prescribed  by  the  city. 
They  have  a  precedent  for  such  action  in  the  vigorous  and  suc¬ 
cessful  course  of  Michigan  City  which  compelled  the  State  to 
drain  the  Northern  Prison  at  its  own  expense  by  turning  the 
sewage  of  that  institution  away  from  the  city  altogether.  The 
State  built  a  sewer  under  great  difficulties  and  at  considerable 
expense,  and  Michigan  City  was  relieved  from  what  had  proven 
a  deadly  nuisance  for  years. 

“In  to-morrow’s  ‘Courier’  we  shall  suggest  a  plan  that  will 
give  the  State  good  drainage  at  its  own  expense,  and  which  at 
the  same  time  will  afford  compensation  to  the  city  of  Evans¬ 
ville  for  the  right  of  way  through  the  city,  immensely  valuable 
to  the  Hospital,  because  it  can  not  be  drained  except  at  an 
enormous  cost,  without  passing  through  the  city.  Let  us  put 
an  end  forever  to  the  ‘give  away’  policy  that  has  so  long  cursed 
the  administration  of  city  affairs.” 

EVANSVILLE  COURIER,  DECEMBER  5,  1893. 

HOSPITAL  DKAINAGE  PROBLEM. 

“  The  proposition  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Hospital  for  Insane 
is  simply  this : 

“‘If  the  city  will  let  us  run  our  waste  water  and  sewage 
into  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  we  will  make  connection  at  the 
State’s  expense  and  keep  our  end  free  from  obstructions.’ 


24 


“  That  is  the  whole  of  it  reduced  to  a  sentence.  '  That  is  all 
the  State,  through  its  authorized  representatives,  has  to  ofter 
to  the  city  of  Evansville  for  the  invaluable  right  of  way 
through  the  city.  That  is  all  the  State  proposes  to  do.  To 
make  use  of  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer,  to  add  to  its  wear  and 
tear  about  double  the  demand  now  made  upon  it,  that  the 
State  may  retrieve  its  own  blunder  made  in  defiance  of  the  pro¬ 
tests  of  the  press,  the  people  and  of  the  city  authorities,  at  the 
time  the  Hospital  was  located.  There  is  no  suggestion  that 
the  State  will  keep  the  sewer  in  good  repair  as  a  slight  com¬ 
pensation  for  its  use.  It  has  not  even  proposed  the  extension 
of  tlie  sewer  to  a  point  where  the  Hospital  drain  pipe  can  most 
easily  and  at  the  least  expense  of  tapping  it,  shall  be  of  a  size 
that  can  be  utilized  by  the  large  section  of  the  city  and  the 
drainage  of  which  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  was  ultimately 
designed.  The  same  indifference  to  the  interests  of  the  people 
of  Evansville  that  was  manifested  in  the  location  of  the  Hos¬ 
pital  is  repeated  in  this  impudent  offer — tor  the  proposition  is 
to  reduce  the  capacity  of  the  extension  as  it  progresses  in  the 
direction  of  the  Hospital.  It  the  Hospital  can  provide  for  its 
own  necessities,  what  do  the  Trustees  care  whether  the  neces¬ 
sities  and  convenience  of  the  people  who  depend  on  Chestnut 
Street  sewer  for  the  drainage  of  their  property  are  provided  for 
or  not? 

‘‘We  submit  that  the  very  making  of  such  a  proposition  is 
a  reflection  upon  the  intelligence  of  this  community.  And  to 
grant  it  would  be  to  proclaim  ourselves  worthy  of  the  con¬ 
temptuous  estimate  which  the  proposition  in  itself  placed  upon 
the  enlightenment  of  our  authorities.  The  latter  may  be  too 
courteous  to  return  the  proposition  unanswered,  but  it  is  not 
conceivable  that  they  will  reply  to  it  in  any  other  way  than  by 
a  curt  and  unequivocal  refusal  to  acquiesce  in  its  terms. 

“The  city  authorities  have  no  power  under  the  new  charter 
to  grant  the  use  of  public  property  without  ample  compensa¬ 
tion.  If  they  had  the  right  we  do  not  believe  they  would 
commit  the  grave  blunder  of  giving  the  use  of  a  sewer  con¬ 
structed  by  the  tax-payers  of  Evansville,  to  an  institution  that 
will  doubly  tax  its  strength  and  greatly  increase  the  cost  of 
keeping  it  in  repair.  Chestnut  Street  sewer  was  built  with  the 
money  of  the  tax-payers  of  Evansville.  It  must  be  kept  in 
order  by  them.  It  belongs  to  all  the  people — it  was  con- 


25 


stracted,  and  the  plan  contemplated  its  extension  in  its  present 
dimensions  to  the  limits  of  the  city.  The  sewage  it  now  car¬ 
ries  is  probably  three  or  four  times  greater  than  when  it  was 
first  built,  and  the  demands  upon  it  are  increasing  yearly. 

“  When  the  territory  ultimately  to  be  drained  into  it  is  thickly 
settled,  as  it  will  be  in  a  very  few  years,  even  at  the  rate  of 
progress  that  has  prevailed  during  the  past  five  years,  it  will 
have  all  it  can  attend  to  even  when  extended  full  size  to  the 
farthest  possible  limits. 

“The  same  is  true  of  every  other  sewer  in  the  city.  They 
were  built  to  accommodate  city  property  only.  The  ‘  fall  ’  is  so 
slight  in  most  of  them  that  the  multiplication  of  inlets  and 
‘taps’  will,  ere  long,  be  a  serious  matter.  It  would  be  mad¬ 
ness  to  tax  any  one  of  them  with  the  drainage  of  the  Hos¬ 
pital,  which  is  likely  to  double  in  capacity  within  ten  years 

“  The  ‘Courier’  is  glad  to  know  that  its  protest  against  per¬ 
mitting  any  one  of  our  existing  sewers  to  be  tapped  by  the 
Hospital  is  generally  approved  by  the  people.  There  was 
nothing  else  talked  about  yesterday,  and  the  sentiment  was 
universal  that  the  State  should  not  be  allowed  to  carry  the 
Hospital  sewage  through  the  city,  except  in  a  sewer  especially 
constructed  for  that  purpose,  and  under  such  specifications  as 
will  give  the  city  some  advantage  in  return  for  the  right  of 
way. 

“  It  is  true  that  the  Hospital  offal  may  be  disposed  of  by  cre¬ 
mation,  and  there  are  many  who  believe  that  to  be  the  best 
solution  of  the  problem.  But  if  this  plan  should  not  commend 
itself  to  the  Board  of  Trustees,  if  they  will  be  content  with 
nothing  short  of  a  sewer  connection  with  the  Ohio  River,  the 
city  authorities  are  expected  to  require  the  construction,  by  the 
State,  of  a  sewer  graded  from  the  Hospital  to  the  river,  and 
passing  through  the  city  on  such  streets  as  will  afford  drainage 
to  the  street  property,  and,  above  all,  carry  the  entire  sewage 
of  the  southern  portion  of  the  city  to  the  river  several  blocks 
below  the  water-works  pumping  station,  we  submit  that  the 
following  will  be  a  fair  and  just  counter  proposition  from  the 
city  authorities  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Southern  Hos¬ 
pital  for  the  Insane  : 

“  The  City  of  Evansville  will  grant  the  right  of  way  through 
the  city,  for  the  construction  of  a  sewer  from  the  Hospital  lor 
the  Insane  to  the  Ohio  River,  on  these  conditions: 


26 


“  1.  The  sewer  within  the  city  limits  shall  be  constructed  as 
a  ‘  trunk  sewer/  of  dimensions  not  less  than  other  sewers  of 
that  class  already  built. 

‘•2.  It  shall  run  across  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  say 
Jackson  A.venue,  or  near  to  the  avenue,  a  block  on  either  side 
of  Jackson  to  Water  Street;  down  Water  Street,  intersecting 
all  sewers  and  taking  their  sewage  to  Walnut  Street,  there 
empty  into  the  Ohio  River  five  blocks  below  the  water-works 
building,  all  outlets  above  Walnut  Street  to  be  abandoned,  and 
their  fiow  diverted  into  the  Water  Street  sewer. 

“  3.  The  city  to  have  complete  control  of  the  sewer  within 
the  city  limits,  and  to  keep  it  in  repair  forever. 

“The  advantage  of  such  a  sewer  to  the  State  would  be  that 
its  grade  could  be  pitched  from  the  Hospital  to  the  river,  thus 
securing  as  perfect  a  fiow  as  the  difference  in  altitude  will  per¬ 
mit.  There  would  be  no  expense  required  for  maintaining  a 
10,000  gallon  tank  for  fiushing  purposes,  as  the  100,000  gallons 
of  salt  water  daily  wasted  would  suffice,  on  such  a  grade,  to 
keep  the  Hospital’s  eight  inch  drainage  pipe  free  from  all  ob¬ 
structions 

“The  advantage  to  the  city  would  be  that  the  drainage  of 
the  entire  upper  portion  of  the  city  would  be  deflected  for 
all  time  five  blocks  below  the  water-works  pumping  station. 
The  cost  of  such  a  sewer  would  be  no  more  than  a  fair  com¬ 
pensation,  by  the  State,  for  a  perfect  drainage  not  attainable 
by  any  other  plan.  It  would  not  be  as  great  as  futile  experi¬ 
ments  in  other  directions.  For  money  wasted  in  unsuccessful 
eff’orts  to  get  water  the  Hospital  could  have  made  connection 
with  the  City  Water  Works.  For  the  money  that  will  be 
spent  in  attempting  to  dispose  of  the  sewage  by  unsatisfactory 
plans,  the  proposed  sewer  could  be  built.  But  these  are  mat¬ 
ters  which  the  Hospital  Board  must  decide.  The  question  that 
the  city  authorities  have  to  pass  upon  is  : 

“  ‘  Why  should  the  city  of  Evansville  afford  drainage  for  the 
Hospital  without  just  and  fair  compensatory  advantages?’ 

“  This  question  answers  itself  in  only  one  way,  namely, 
‘  If  the  Hospital  Board  wishes  to  empty  the  sewage  of  that 
institution  through  the  city,  they  must  bi^ild  a  sewer  at  the 
State’s  expense,  on  a  route  and  according  to  the  conditions 
prescribed  by  the  city.’ 

“That  is  fair.  It  is  jusi-.  It  is  a  straightforward  business 


27 


proposition,  and  any  solution  of  the  Hospital  drainage  problem, 
as  far  as  the  city  of  Evansville  may  have  any  part  in  determin¬ 
ing  it,  that  does  not  give  the  city  the  very  reasonable  benefits 
provided  in  the  proposed  counter-proposition,  would  arouse 
just  indignation  against  those  public  servants  of  the  munici¬ 
pality  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  protecting  the  people 
of  Evansville  against  wrongs  and  impositions,  even  when  their 
would-be  beneficiary  is  the  rich  and  powerful  State  of  Indiana. 


DECEMBER  6,  1893. 

AN  IMPRESSIVE  PROTEST. 

“The  meeting  yesterday  afternoon  in  the  City  Council 
chamber,  and  entered  protest  to  the  Board  of  Public  Works 
against  granting  the  proposition  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Southern  Hospital  for  Insane,  was  an  impressive  one. 

“  It  must  be  a  question  of  no  common  interest  that  takes 
from  their  business  avocation,  in  one  of  the  busiest  hours  of 
the  day,  two  or  three  score  of  our  most  active  citizens  to  raise 
their  voices  on  a  question  affecting  the  public  welfare  in  behalf 
of  the  city’s  interests.  Almost  every  prominent  business  insti¬ 
tution  was  represented  at  this  meeting,  as  may  be  seen  by 
glancing  at  the  names  of  some  of  those  present.  They  were 
there  to  serve  the  public  as  literally  as  though  they  were  pan¬ 
oplied  with  the  power  and  authority  of  public  station.  They 
were  there  to  protest  against  granting  a  proposition  in  whose 
favor  even  the  able  attorney  of  the  Hospital  Board  found  it 
impossible  to  present  a  single  argument.  The  attorney  said  all 
that  man  could  say,  but  the  proposition  is  so  phenomenally 
jug-handled  that  they  felt  themselves  handicapped  from  the 
start  to  finish.  The  arguments  against  the  proposition, 
whether  based  on  sanitary  grounds  or  on  grounds  of  public 
policy,  were  unanswered.  It  was  a  case  in  which  the  Hospital 
Board  has  nothing  to  present  a  plea  on  but  bare-faced  selfish¬ 
ness,  for  invaluable  service  without  a  shadow  of  reciprocal 
benefits.  They  want  an  indispensable  service  from  the  city 
without  offering  the  slightest  compensation.  They  ask  the 
city  to  furnish  drainage  for  the  State  Hospital  at  its  own  ex¬ 
pense,  for  all  the  State  proposes  to  do  is  to  bring  to  Chestnut 
Street  sewer  their  small  telescope  extension  within  tapping 


28 


distance  of  the  Hospital  drainage  pipe.  They  propose  to 
accommodate  the  State  by  converting  a  city  sewer,  for  which 
the  tax-payer  of  Evansville  paid,  and  which  was  planned  on  a 
scale  sufficient  only  for  their  own  use,  into  a  State  sewer  with¬ 
out  paying  a  cent  in  the  way  of  compensation. 

“  The  meeting  demonstrated  that  the  people  of  Evansville 
are  not  willing  to  be  imposed  upon  in  that  way,  and  the  unani¬ 
mous  sentiment  was  that  the  State  might  have  the  right  of 
way  through  the  city  to  build  a  sewer,  and  the  city  to  have 
the  joint  use  of  it  as  compensation  for  the  franchise. 

That  is  the  general  sentiment  wherever  an  opinion  is  ex¬ 
pressed.  It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  the  members  of  the 
Board  of  Public  Works  will  have  a  different  view.” 


DECEMBER  7,  1S93. 

THEY  HAVE  NO  CASE. 

“  With  all  respect  to  the  Board  of  the  Insane  Hospital  and 
their  attorneys,  Messrs.  Walker  &  Frey,  we  must  .decline  to 
accept  the  reasons  given  by  them  why  the  Hospital  should 
have  the  free  use  of  Chestnut  Street  sewer.  They  are  entirely 
insufficient.  It  may  be  true  that  the  drainage  of  the  Hospital 
would  make  no  perceptible  difference  in  the  offensive  gases 
which  already  issue  from  the  sewer  to  the  discomfort  of  those 
who  live  on  Chestnut  Street.  A  sewer  is  a  sewer  and  can  not 
be  transformed  into  a  bed  of  roses  any  way  you  may  lix  it.  It 
may  be  true  that  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  is  all  the 
additional  offal  that  the  Insane  Hospital  would  discharge,  as 
was  said  by  Mr.  Frey  at  the  meeting  of  the  Public  Works  on 
Tuesday,  although  it  must  be  admitted  that  if  this  is  true  some 
other  organs  of  the  four  or  five  hundred  patients  must  be  as 
derelict  in  the  performance  of  the  functions  as  their  brain. 
Perhaps  it  is  true  that  the  eight-inch  jet  of  water  would  flush 
and  cleanse  a  five-foot  sewer,  yet  it  would  establish  an  entirely 
new  principle  in  hydraulics  for  which  the  discoverers  would  be 
entitled  to  a  patent.  It  may  be  also  that  the  salt  water  overflow 
at  the  Hospital  would  prove  an  antiseptic  and  complete  deodor¬ 
izer,  and  disinfect  the  sewer  as  claimed. 

“  Let  us  admit  for  the  sake  of  argument  their  statement  that 
was  made  in  behalf  of  the  State  at  the  meeting  on  Tuesday,  not 


29 


even  excepting  Trustee  Swormstedt’s  startling  threat  that  the 
Hospital  might  be  abandoned  unless  the  privileges  asked  were 
granted,  and  jet  the  ‘Courier’  protests  that  the  Board  of 
Public  Works  has  no  proposition  in  connection  with  the  sub¬ 
ject  that  is  worthy  of  a  moment’s  consideration. 

“The  Chestnut  Street  .sewer  is  an  expensive  public  conven¬ 
ience  which  was  paid  for  by  the  citizens  of  Evansville  out  of 
their  municipal  treasury.  It  is  their  property,  and  the  Board  of 
Public  Works  would  be  quite  as  justifiable  in  giving  the  per¬ 
petual  use  of  one  of  our  city  parks,  an  engine  house,  a  school 
house,  or  anything  else  belonging  to  the  city,  as  in  granting 
this  strange  request  of  the  lusane  Hospital  Board  of  Trustees. 
It  is  purely  a  business  question,  and  should  be  treated  upon 
that  basis. 

“  Mr.  Swormstedt’s  suggestion  as  to  the  probability  of  the 
State  abandoning  the  Hospital  was  probably  submitted  in  a 
Pickwickian  sense.  If  he  believes  that  will  ever  be  done  under 
any  circumstances  his  credulity  is  exclusive  in  its  degree,  for 
certainly  nobody  else  believes  it.  What  would  be  done  with 
the  patients  of  the  Hospital?  Would  they  be  sent  back  to  the 
jails  and  county  poor  houses  from  which  the  State  rescued 
them  by  building  that  refuge?  How  would  the  State  author¬ 
ities  explain  the  closing  up  of  a  charitable  institution  which 
has  cost  the  people  well  onto  half  a  million  dollars?  The 
‘  Courier  ’  assures  Mr.  Swormstedt  that  his  fears  are  groundless. 
It  also  assures  the  Board  of  Public  Works  that  the  State  will 
provide  drainage  for  the  Hospital  as  in  duty  bound,  if  the  priv¬ 
ilege  with  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  is  refused,  and  it  should 
be  refused  without  hesitation. 

“  The  silly  statement  of  one  of  the  Hospital  Trustees  that 
the  State  may  abandon  the  Insane  Asylum  if  Evansville  does 
not  provide  it  with  drainage,  illustrates  the  low  estimate  the 
Board  places  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  people  of  this  city, 
and  the  answer  to  this  puerile  threat  is  that,  if  the  State  can 
not  maintain  the  Hospital  without  saddling  upon  the  city  of 
Evansville  the  cost  of  draining  it,  the  sooner  the  State  abandons 
the  Hospital  the  better  the  tax  payers  of  Evansville  will  be 
pleased.  The  commissioners  who  located  the  Hospital  were 
warned  time  and  again  by  the  Evansville  press  and  by  the  city 
authorities  that  draining  could  not  be  secured  if  located  on  the 
Howard  farm  except  at  great  expense.  Having  obstinately 


30 


scouted  these  warnings,  this  is  about  the  most  impudent  propo¬ 
sition  conceivable  that  the  State  should  now  ask  the  city  of 
Evansville  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  State’s  folly,  deliber¬ 
ately  committed  against  the  vigorous  protests  of  the  city  made 
in  ample  time  to  have  prevented  it.” 

DECEMBER  9,  1893. 

“The  ‘Tribune’  of  Wednesday  gave  emphasis  to  double 
leads  by  the  following  well  considered  words : 

“  ‘  The  Board  of  Public  Works  has  opportunity  to  show  its 
realization  and  a])preciation  of  duty  in  the  Hospital  sewage 
question. 

“  ‘  It  is  well  that  the  Board  understands  and  keeps  foremost 
in  mind  that  it  was  chosen  to  represent  the  people  of  Evans¬ 
ville.  There  is  no  law,  written  or  unwritten,  that  will  warrant 
it  serving  the  State  to  the  injury  of  the  municipality.  Its  ob¬ 
ligations  are  wholly  to  the  people.  Ho  selfish  ends  or  personal 
injury  ought  to  conspire  against  the  faithful  execution  of  its 
assumed  pledges. 

“  Such  unanimity  of  sentiment  as  is  amassed  against  the 
tapping  of  Chestnut  Street  sewer  by  the  Hospital  authorities 
should  deter  the  Board  of  Public  Works  from  entertaining 
the  petition  even  were  it  convinced  that  big  benefits  would 
accrue  to  the  city.  The  members  of  the  Board  are  servants  of 
the  people,  and  all  well-behaved  servants  do  the  bidding  of 
those  over  them.’ 

“This  is  a  correct  view  from  the  standing  point  of  good 
citizenship.  Hobody  censures  the  members  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Southern  Hospital  for  Insane  for  seeking  to 
get  the  best  drainage  for  the  least  money.  They  are  the 
sworn  officials  of  the  State,  and  their  zeal  is  to  be  commended, 
but  the  Board  of  Public  .Works  are  expected  to  show  as 
much  zeal  in  serving  the  city  of  Evansville.  The  ‘Courier’ 
has  never  doubted  for  a  moment  that  they  would  not  do  so. 
We  have  no  doubt  that  they  will  confirm  and  strengthen  the 
policy  inaugurated  four  years  ago  of  requiring  all  means  for 
a  tranchise  from  the  city  for  any  use. 

“  The  proposition  presented  by  the  Hospital  Trustees  should 
be  rejected  because  the  present  system  was  planned  by  the 
late  James  D.  Saunders,  for  the  drainage  of  the  city  alone. 


31 


aod  the  grades  are  all  pitched  with  that  object  in  view,  and 
the  fall  between  the  Hospital  connection  with  any  one  of  our 
existing  sewers  would  be  so  slight  as  to  give  endless  trouble 
and  detail  considerable  expense  to  the  State.  There  is  but 
one  solution  to  the  problem  worth  considering,  and  that  is  a 
construction  of  a  sewer  through  the  city  on  a  grade  fixed  with 
the  Hospital  as  a  starting  point,  and  the  Ohio  River  as  their 
terminus.  It  would  be  nothing  more  than  fair  compensation 
for  the  right  of  way  through  the  city  to  locate  this  sewer 
where  the  people  can  gain  some  advantage  from  it,  the  city 
of  course  to  stipulate  to  keep  in  good  order  and  repair  all  the 
sewer  within  the  city  limits,  or  what  may  be  hereafter  in¬ 
cluded  within  the  city  limits.  This  is  an  important  point  to 
be  considered.  Suppose,  for  instance,  as  will  surely  happen 
within  a  few  years — suppose  the  city  limits  should  be  ex¬ 
tended  half  a  mile  beyond  Kentucky  Avenue,  and  we  had 
nothing  but  the  proposed  8-inclj  drainage  pipe  to  depend  upon 
for  the  drainage  of  the  new  territory.  Is  it  not  plain  that 
the  city  would  have  to  construct  a  new  sewer  as  a  result  of 
the  gift  to  the  State  now  sought  by  the  Hospital  Trustees? 
This  is  a  contingency  certain  to  be  realized  in  the  near  future, 
and  brings  before  us  most  forcibly  the  practical  objections  to 
the  grant. 

Chestnut  Street  sewer  was  designed  to  drain  all  territory  on 
a  line  of  its  possible  extension  and  its  dimensions  were  fixed 
with  that  view.  Yet  we  are  asked  to  reduce  its  dimension 
down  to  an  8"  drainage  pipe  within  a  territory  that  can  soon 
be  taken  inside  the  corporate  Hmits. 

If  the  people  on  the  line  of  the  proposed  extension  on  a 
scale  of  decreasing  dimensions  are  really  clamoring  for  it,  as 
one  of  the  attorneys  for  the  Hospital  averted,  although  his  in¬ 
formation  to  date  is  exclusive,  they  would  do  well  to  think  the 
matter  over.” 


DECEMBER  10,  1893. 

“  Referring  again  to  the  Insane  Hospital  sewage  question,  it 
may  be  well  to  remark  that  a  Ration  is  greater  than  any  State, 
and  that  the  State  of  Indiana  is  greater  than  the  city  of  Evans 
ville  or  even  Indianapolis.  By  objecting  to  the  only  practica¬ 
ble  plan  to  drain  the  institution  our  people  may  compel  the 


32 


Trustees  to  maintain  a  nuisance  through  another  summer,  but 
yet  we  venture  the  prediction  that  when  the  General  Assembly 
convenes  in  January,  1895,  some  means  will  be  found  to  force 
through  a  system  of  drainage,  even  though  the  Trustees  have 
to  take  a  ‘short  cut’  with  their  pipe  line  to  the  Ohio  River  or 
Pigeon  Creek.” 


EVANSVILLE  COURIER. 

“We  suggest  to  the  city  authorities  that  steps  be  taken  at 
an  early  date  to  make  plans  for  a  sewer  to  extend  from  the 
head  of  Second  Street  along  the  boulevard  to  the  intersection 
of  Water,  and  down  Water  Street  to  Fulton  Avenue,  for  the 
purpose  of  removing  the  drainage  of  the  entire  city  above  that 
street  to  the  distance  of  a  mile  below  the  intake  of  the  Water 
Works.  The  State  of  Indiana  ought  to  pay  the  entire  cost  of 
the  building  of  this  sewer  in  consideration  of  its  perpetual 
use  for  the  drainage  of  the  Southern  Hospital  for  the  Insaife. 
Such  a  sewer  should  be  made  large  enough  to  carry  ofl‘  all  the 
drainage  of  the  entire  city  from  Fulton  Avenue  to  the  extreme 
southern  limits.” 


EVANSVILLE  TRIBUNE,  APRIL  20,  1894. 

THAT  SEWAGE. 

IT  IS  GIVING  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF  CHARITIES  DEEP  CONCERN. 

“The  sewage  of  the  Southern  Hospital  for  the  Insane  at 
Evansville,  says  the  ‘Indianapolis  News,’  has  become  a  serious 
subject  with  the  Hospital  authorities  and  the  Board  of  State 
Charities.  The  institution  has  no  suitable  place  to  drain  its 
refuse,  which  amounts  to  40,000  or  50,000  gallons  a  day,  the 
Board  says.  The  last  Legislature  appropriated  $15,000  to  con¬ 
struct  a  sewer,  but  as  there  is  no  point  available  as  a  terminus 
the  money  is  in  the  State  Treasury  to  the  credit  of  the  Hospital. 
A  course  to  the  Ohio  River  has  been  talked  of,  but  it  is  thought 
to  be  impracticable.  At  present  the  drain  is  through  a  trench 
to  a  small  creek.  The  property  owners  along  the  banks  of  the 
stream  are  objecting  to  the  use  of  the  creek  by  the  institution, 
and  threaten  to  seek  relief  in  the  courts. 


33 


“As  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  the  Hospital  authorities  en¬ 
deavored  to  arrange  with  the  city  authorities  of  Evansville  for 
the  construction  of  a  sewer  to  the  city,  three  miles  away,  to 
connect  with  the  system  there.  The  Hospital  has  a  salt  well 
on  its  land,  and  offered  to  flush  the  sewer  once  a  day  with 
100,000  gallons  of  water,  which  would  not  only  cleanse  the 
Hospital  sewer  but  would  be  of  benefit  to  the  city  system. 
The  plans  were  about  to  be  agreed  upon  by  the  city,  the  Board 
says,  when  the  newspapers  of  Evansville  opened  a  warfare  on 
the  project.  They  asserted  that  if  the  plans  were  carried  out 
the  State  should  pay  the  bill.  The  plan  has  been  abandoned. 
As  a  temporary  solution  of  the  problem,  it  is  thought  that 
large  reservoirs  will  have  to  be  constructed  on  the  Hospital 
grounds,  which  can  be  used  until  the  Legislature  can  find 
means  of  relief.” 

There  is  no  question  in  my  mind  as  to  the  benefit  our  dis¬ 
charge  of  sewage  would  have  been  to  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer. 
There  would  have  been  at  all  times  a  running  stream  of  water 
sufficient  to  have  kept  the  sewer  clean.  The  danger  from  dis¬ 
ease  germs  would  have  been  entirely  eliminated,  and  the  health 
of  the  people  living  along  that  line  would  have  been  much  im¬ 
proved.  The  discharge  of  water  from  our  salt  well  would  have 
greatly  increased  the  conditions  mentioned  above. 

The  route  to  the  Ohio  River  remains  to  be  considered.  The 
length  of  this  route — four  and  a  half  miles — was  greatly  against 
its  adoption ;  besides,  the  route  was  full  of  crooks  and  angles. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  repair,  and  as  it  would  enter  the  city 
above  the  city’s  water  works,  opposition  would  at  once  arise  if 
we  should  make  any  effort  to  build  the  sewer  along  the  route. 
In  fact  it  was  hardly  worth  while  to  consider  this  route  at  all. 

Some  people  have  suggested  crematories  in  which  the  sewage 
might  be  destroyed  by  heat  and  evaporated.  Several  persons 
who  manufacture  crematories  visited  the  Hospital,  and,  after 
understanding  the  situation,  did  not  think  that  a  crematory 
would  serve  our  purpose,  owing  to  the  immense  amount  of 
water  to  be  disposed  of. 

The  proposition  for  you  to  build  a  sewer  through  the  city  to 
the  mouth  of  Pigeon  Creek  could  not  be  seriously  considered, 
owing  to  its  magnitude  and  the  cost  of  it,  which  it  is  said 
would  be  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

You  have  labored  under  the  very  serious  disadvantage  of 


34 


having  the  newspapers  against  any  reasonable  plan  which  you 
might  propose,  and  this  agency  has  in  a  great  measure  ^in¬ 
fluenced  and  prejudiced  public  opinion  against  the  methods 
which  you  have  advocated.  The  people  have  been  alarmed  to 
a  great  degree,  fearing  that  the  health  of  their  families  would 
be  endangered.  Much  of  the  opposition  came  from  persons 
who  did  not  fully  understand  the  conditions,  surroundings, 
benefits  and  results. 

It  is  useless  to  argue  with  these  people.  Some,  after  thought¬ 
ful  consideration  of  the  matter,  withdrew  their  opposition. 
You  have  done  all  that  could  be  done  under  the  circumstances. 

I  have  in  this  presented  to  you  as  best  I  could  the  situation 
as  it  exists.  I  have  been  perfectly  candid  in  expressing  my 
opinion,  because  I  feel  that  I  have  acted  conscientiously,  and 
believe  the  facts  will  bear  out  my  opinions. 

Very  respectfully, 

A.  J.  THOMAS, 
Medical  Superintendent. 

Southern  Indiana  Hospital  for  Insane,  \ 

January  30,  1895.  | 


SUGGESTIONS  AND  PLANS  OF  THE  BOARD 

OF  STATE  CHARITIES. 


Indianapolis,  Indiana,  August  5,  189J. 

IIoN.  Alvin  P.  IIovey, 

Governor  of  Indiana: 

Dear  Sir — The  Board  of  State  Charities,  by  its  Committee 
on  Hospitals  for  Insane,  visited  the  Southern  Hospital  near 
Evansville  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  July  29  and  30. 

Among  other  matter  they  particularly  investigated  the  sew¬ 
erage,  and,  agreeably  to  your  request,  present  to  you  the  fol¬ 
lowing  report  on  that  subject,  viz  : 

We  find  that  the  system  of  disposal  of  sewerage  adopted  by 
the  Board  of  Construction  has  not  been  completely  carried  into 
effect,  and  the  consequence  is  that  a  certain  nuisance  is  threat¬ 
ened  to,  rather  than  actually  experienced  by,  the  occupiers  of 
adjoining  property. 

We  believe  that  the  general  system  adopted  by  the  said  one 
is  a  correct  one,  and  if  properly  carried  out  would  cause  no 
nuisance  either  to  the  inmates  of  the  Hospital  or  the  neighbors. 

We  deprecate  the  proposed  plan  of  building  a  close  sewer  to 
Pigeon  Creek : 

First.  Because  of  the  large  and,  we  think,  unnecessary  ex¬ 
pense,  and. 

Second.  Because  the  nuisance  would  be  simply  removed,  not 
abated,  but  the  holders  of  property  abutting  on  the  creek  would 
have  equal  cause  of  complaint  with  those  nearer  the  Hospital 
who  are  now  complaining,  and  would  probably  bring  suit  to 
enjoin  the  State  from  the  use  of  the  proposed  sewer. 

We  recommend  the  following  changes  from  the  present 
arrangement : 

.  First.  A  removal  of  the  present  close  sewer  so  that  the 
outlet  shall  be  at  a  higher  point  some  distance  north  and  west 
of  the  present  outlet,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
west  of  the  barn. 


36 


Second.  A  connection  to  be  made  with  the  laundry  sewer 
so  that  it  shall  discharge  by  the  same  outlet. 

Third.  A.  more  perfect  system  of  lateral  ditches  leading 
downwards  from  the  main  distributing  ditch. 

Fourth.  A  main  receiving  ditch  on  lower  side  of  slope,  par¬ 
allel  with  the  county  ditch,  into  which  the  lateral  now  dis¬ 
charges. 

Fifth.  The  construction  of  a  catch  basin  at  the  western 
end  of  the  proposed  lower  level  ditch,  so  as  to  retain  all  solid 
matter  which  may  pass  through  the  lateral  ditches,  trom 
which  catch  basins  the  surplus  clear  water  shall  flow  into  the 
county  ditch. 

Sixth.  A  system  of  tile  under-drains  on  the  ground  to  be 
fertilized  by  the  sewage,  which  may  connect  directly  with  the 
county  ditch. 

Seventh.  A  regular  cleansing  of  the  proposed  catch  basin, 
as  may  be  found  necessary,  either  weekly,  monthly,  or  at 
longer  intervals,  the  solid  matter  to  be  spread  as  a  fertilizer  on 
the  flelds  turtherest  from  the  house. 


LETTER  FROM  THE  BOARD  OF  STATE  CHARITIES. 


Indianapolis,  Indiana,  August  5,  1891. 

To  the  Trustees  of  the  Southern.  Indiana  Hospital  for  Insane: 

Gentlemen — The  Board  of  State  Charities  of  Indiana  hav¬ 
ing,  by  its  Committee  on  Hospitals  for  Insane,  recently  visited 
the  Hospital  under  your  care,  respectfully  presents  the  follow¬ 
ing  recommendations : 

We  suggest  that  the  system  of  sewerage  adopted  by  the 
Board  of  Construction  be  given  a  thorough  trial.  We  enclose 
with  this  a  report  made  to  the  Governor  upon  this  subject  in 
which  a  plan  is  suggested  which  we  believe  will,  with  such 
modiflcations  as  may  be  found  necessary,  meet  the  need  of  the 


case. 


The  committee  feel  confident  that  these  changes  could  be 
made  at  a  comparatively  slight  expense,  certainly  not  one  fifth 
of  the  cost  of  the  proposed  sewer  to  Pigeon  Creek,  and  that 
the  complete  system  would  not  only  permanently  abate  any 
nuisance  arising  from  the  sewage,  but  would  give  the  Hospital 
a  piece  of  ground  of  unsurpassed  fertility. 

A  rough  sketch  of  the  proposed  system  of  ditches  and  drains 
is  herewith  submitted.  The  levels  have  been  taken  from  the 
engineer’s  plans  of  the  grounds,  and,  it  is  believed,  are  accurate. 
The  remainder  of  the  sketch  is  merely  an  outline,  the  propor¬ 
tionate  distance  being  disregarded. 

Very  respectfully, 

John  K.  Elder, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Hospitals  for  Insane. 

Attest : 

Alexander  Johnson,  Secretary. 


FROM  THE  SECOND  BIENNIAL  REPORT  OF 
THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES  ON 
SEWERAGE. 


The  Board  of  Construction  contemplated  for  this  Hospital 
a  system  of  sewage  disposal  which  is  largely  experimental. 
Ho  doubt,  under  extremely  favorable  conditions,  it  would  be 
reasonably  satisfactory.  After  making  careful  inquiry  of 
experts  in  this  line  we  became  convinced  of  its  impractica¬ 
bility.  In  our  former  report  we  apprised  the  Governor  of 
our  intention  to  carry  the  sewage  to  Pigeon  Creek.  For 
reasons  set  forth  in  that  report  the  immediate  carrying  into 
eft’ect  of  this  plan  was  abandoned,  and,  through  necessity,  the 
original  plan,  on  a  limited  scale,  was  substituted,  we  adding 
about  seven  hundred  feet  of  pipe  to  the  outlet  to  locate  the 
settling  grounds  farther  from  the  Hospital  buildings.  This 
method  of  disposal  gave  ofl'ense  to  our  neighbors,  who  gave 
expression  to  their  disapprobation  by  filing  an  injunction 
suit  against  us.  About  this  time  the  Governor  called  the 
attention  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities  to  the  matter  and  re¬ 
quested  them  to  look  into  it  and  report  to  him  their  observa¬ 
tions.  The  Board,  through  its  Committee  on  Hospitals  for 
Insane,  visited  this  Hospital,  and,  after  going  over  the  ground, 
made  a  report  to  the  Governor  deprecating  the  proposed  sewer 
to  Pigeon  Creek,  and  declaring  the  belief  that  the  system  con¬ 
templated  by  the  Board  of  Construction  was  the  correct  one, 
and,  to  the  end  that  it  might  be  more  thoroughly  tested,  they 
recommended  a  more  extended  system  of  lateral  ditches,  and 
approved  the  contemplated  change  in  the  direction  of  the 
laundry  sewer.  Out  of  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the  Governor 
the  recommendations  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities  were  car¬ 
ried  into  effect  with  fairly  satisfactory  results  at  first,  but  as  the 
amount  of  sewage  increases  the  plan  shows  evidences  of  its  im¬ 
practicability,  and  it  is  our  opinion  that  it  will  have  to  be 
abandoned  and  the  plan  of  a  closed  sewer  to  Pigeon  Creek 
finally  ado})ted.  This  creek  is  a  living  stream  located  a  distance 
of  about  two  miles  northwest  of  the  Hospital.  Prior  to  mak- 


39 


ing  our  former  report  we  caused  a  survey  to  be  made  by  com- 
petect  engineers,  and  we  found  that  in  a  direct  line  northwest 
of  the  Hospital  the  creek  could  be  reached  through  a  sewer  laid 
at  an  average  depth  of  five  feet,  and  on  this  line  a  sewer  could 
be  readily  flushed  and  easily  maintained,  the  route  being  free 
from  sharp  turns  and  having  an  ample  fall. 

Over  this  line  we  were  unable  to  secure  the  right  of  way, 
owing  to  the  opposition  of  a  non-resident  property  holder, 
whose  land  lies  north  of  the  Hospital.  In  the  emergency  that 
confronted  us  we  secured  the  right  of  way  over  a  less  desira¬ 
ble  line,  but  the  plan  of  the  creek  disposal  having  of  necessity 
been  abandoned,  as  set  forth  in  our  former  report,  we  did  not 
use  the  right.  No  expenditure  was  made  on  this  account,  and 
since  the  matter  of  sewage  disposal  is  still  open,  we  desire 
special  legislation  enabling  us  to  take  the  most  direct  and  least 
expensive  route  to  Pigeon  Creek. 

Only  by  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  authorizing  a  con¬ 
demnation  of  the  right  of  way,  can  this  most  direct  line  for  a 
sewer  be  secured  by  us.  Since  the  topography  of  the  farm  is 
not  favorable  to  field  disposal  of  sewage  without  the  erection 
and  maintenance  of  pumping  or  cremating  machines,  we  be¬ 
lieve  the  most  eflPectual  and  most  economical  disposal  will  be 
had  through  the  closed  sewer  to  Pigeon  Creek.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  this  plan  will  not  obviate,  but  merely  shift  the 
diificulty,  as  the  sewer  might  become  a  nuisance  at  its  outlet. 
We  admit  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  on  this  point,  but  it 
is  most  generally  conceded  that  it  will  not  prove  offensive  or 
detrimental  to  health.  The  outlet  of  the  proposed  sewer,  by 
way  of  the  stream,  would  be  a  distance  of  about  sixteen  miles 
from  Evansville,  though  the  creek  itself,  before  emptying  into 
the  Ohio  River,  flows  through  the  city  for  a  distance  of  about 
one  mile. 

This  fact  has  caused  some  opposition  to  the  construction 
of  the  sewer,  and  should  the  right  of  way  over  the  proposed 
line  be  secured  there  is  a  probability  that  we  will  be  enjoined. 
We  are  assured,  however,  that  this  action  if  taken  will  be  in¬ 
stituted  before  the  work  of  construction  is  commenced. 

In  order  to  settle  the  question  of  sewage  disposal  by  means 
of  the  contemplated  sewer,  we  respectfully  request  that  you 
urge  upon  the  General  Assembly,  if  it  is  consistent  with  your 
judgment  in  the  matter,  the  necessity  for  an  enactment  en- 


40 


abling  us  to  secure  the  right  of  way  over  the  liue  herein  indi¬ 
cated.  If  we  are  enjoined  from  entering  Pigeon  Creek,  some 
other  method  of  sewage  disposal  must  then  be  considered,  even 
though  its  adoption  involves  greater  expenditures  in  the  way 
of  construction  and  maintenance. 


REPORT  OF  A.  B.  FITCH,  C.  E.,  ON  DIFFER¬ 
ENT  ROUTES  FOR  SEWER. 


Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  February  17,  1893. 

To  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 

Southern  Indiana  Hospital  for  Insane: 

Gentlemen — At  your  request  I  have  made  an  examination 
with  the  view  of  determining  the  most  practical  plan  of  sew¬ 
erage  at  the  Southern  Hospital,  and  herewith  submit  a  discus¬ 
sion  of  the  several  plans  proposed,  with  estimate  cost  of  instal¬ 
lation.  As  a  basis  for  these  estimates  it  is  assumed  that  for 
five  hundred  people  at  this  Hospital  an  average  of  70  gallons 
of  sewage  for  each  person  may  be  reached,  making  a  maximum 
total  of  35,000  gallons  to  be  disposed  of  daily.  This  allows  for 
a  large  initial  dilution. 

An  expensive  and  elaborate  system  of  plumbing  throughout 
the  Hospital  buildings  provides  for  sewage  disposal  by  water 
carriage.  This  part  of  the  plan  can  not  be  changed  now  ex¬ 
cept  at  great  expense. 

The  method  of  disposal  by  “intermittent  filtration,”  on  a 
portion  of  the  Hospital  grounds,  has  been  tried  for  the  past 
two  years  and  has  been  a  failure  for  want  of  suitable  porous 
ground. 

The  consideration  of  the  subject  is  therefore  limited  to  carry¬ 
ing  the  sewage  by  pipe  sewer  to  Pigeon  Creek,  to  one  of  the 
Evansville  city  sewers  or  to  the  Ohio  River. 

To  each  plan  there  are  earnest  objections,  and  though  the 
greater  number  of  the  objections  raised  are  not  sustained  by 
the  facts,  they  may  be  urged  in  such  a  manner  as  to  seriously 
embarrass  the  carrying  out  of  any  of  the  plans.  For  this  rea¬ 
son  all  the  routes  are  discussed  and  their  merits  shown  as  fairly 
as  possible,  since  it  may  be  expedient,  under  the  circumstances, 
to  adopt  a  solution  of  the  problem  other  than  that  deemed  the 
best. 


42 


PLAN  No.  I 

Is  an  8  inch  pipe  sewer  to  Pigeon  Creek,  for  which  a  survey 
was  made  and  the  contract  let  in  1890,  but  the  work  was  stop¬ 
ped  by  inability  to  use  the  appropriation  for  that  purpose. 

This  sewer,  as  proposed,  was  10,080  feet  long,  with  a  total 
fall  of  thirty  seven  feet  to  the  water  surface  of  Pigeon  Creek, 
at  that  time  near  its  low  water  mark.  This  water  surface  was 
still  twenty  four  feet  above  low  water  of  the  Ohio  River,  and 
the  same  distance  below  the  high  water  mark  of  1884,  the  va¬ 
riation  on  the  Ohio  River  between  the  highest  and  lowest  wa¬ 
ter  in  this  locality  being  about  forty- eight  feet. 

The  point  of  outfall  of  the  sewer  into  Pigeon  Creek  is  eight 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  and  six  and  two-thirds 
miles  above  the  point  where  it  first  touches  the  city  limits  of 
Evansville.  Within  this  eight  miles  from  its  mouth  there  are 
two  or  more  rocky  ledges  in  the  bed  of  Pigeon  Creek,  over 
which  it  falls  in  riffles  at  low  water,  and  above  which  it  is  held 
in  pools  as  by  dams.  The  outfall  of  the  proposed  sewer  is  in 
one  of  these  pools  that  is  several  miles  in  length,  from  thirty  to 
fifty  feet  in  width,  and  from  five  to  fifteen  feet  in  depth  at  low 
w^ater.  The  discharge  of  Pigeon  Creek  at  low  w^ater  has  not 
been  measured,  but  it  is  described  as  running  three  to  six  inches 
deep  and  ten  or  twelve  feet  wide  over  riffles  at  the  “  salt  well,” 
in  Evansville,  in  the  fall  of  1892,  when  the  Ohio  River  was 
within  less  than  one  foot  of  its  low  water  mark  on  the  city 
register. 

In  the  lower  part  of  its  length  the  waters  of  Pigeon  Creek 
are  nowhere  used  for  drinking  or  culinary  purposes.  In  the 
city  of  Evansville  the  mills  and  factories  discharge  their  refuse 
into  it,  and  some  of  the  city  sewers  are  discharged  into  it  also. 

Above  the  city  limits  slaughter  houses  are  located  on  its 
banks,  and  a  short  distance  below  the  outfall  of  the  proposed 
Hospital  sewer  is  located  a  fertilizer  factory,  all  discharging 
their  refuse  into  Pigeon  Creek.  It  is  not  a  question,  then,  of 
polluting  this  stream  in  the  first  place,  but,  rather,  a  question 
whether  this  added  pollution  will  be  offensive  to  the  senses  or 
detrimental  to  health. 

With  the  liberal  supply  of  water,  and  the  arrangements  of 
flushing  at  the  Hospital,  the  sewage  will  be  a  hundred  times 
diluted  before  it  starts  on  its  journey  to  the  creek.  In  this 


48 


journey  the  solids  will  be  dissolved  and  ground  line,  and  the 
sewage,  as  discharged  into  Pigeon  Creek,  will  be  less  discol¬ 
ored  and  show  less  solids  to  the  gallon  than  the  Ohio  River 
water  at  an  ordinary  high  stage. 

This  discharge  into  Pigeon  Creek,  will  be  below  its  low  water 
mark  into  a  considerable  body  of  water,  and  the  sewage  will 
be  diluted  again  a  hundred  times  of  its  added  bulk, even  at  low 
water  in  the  creek.  At  the  low  water  stage  there  will  be  some 
deposit  of  the  solids  in  the  pool  mentioned,  but  it  will  be  swept 
out  when  the  creed  is  in  flood. 

The  journey  of  the  sewage  from  the  Hospital  to  the  creek 
will  be  made  in  a  little  more  than  an  hour,  and  from  the  outfall 
ot  the  sewer  to  the  Ohio  River  in  not  exceeding  seven  hours, 
and  with  the  dilution  and  treatment  it  receives  no  putrefactive 
decomposition  can  take  place  in  that  time.  It  can  not,  there¬ 
fore,  be  oflensive  to  sight  or  smell,  or  in  any  way  detrimental 
to  health. 

With  a  velocity  of  two  feet  per  second,  the  discharging 
capacity  of  this  8  inch  pipe  would  be  18,000  gallons  per  hour, 
so  there  is  no  question  but  that  this  size  pipe  is  ample  to  do 
the  work.  The  main  line  of  the  sewer  was  contracted  for  in 
1890,  at  §6,200.  This  price  did  not  include  connections  at  the 
Hospital  or  right  of  way  over  private  grounds.  It  will  prob¬ 
ably  cost  §8,000  completed. 

i 

PLAN  No.  II 

Is  by  a  pipe  sewer  to  connect  with  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer 
in  the  city  of  Evansville. 

The  course  of  this  sewer  will  be  down  the  main  avenue  in 
the  Hospital  grounds  to  a  point  near  the  pump  house,  and  in 
this  portion  there  is  a  fall  of  6  feet  in  500  feet  distance.  From 
near  the  pump  house  it  will  go  nearly  direct  west  to  a  junction 
with  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer  on  Walnut  Street  in  the  city. 
This  portion  will  be  about  13  900  feet  along  with  a  total  fall  of 
15  feet.  In  an  8-inch  pipe  running  full  or  half  full  this  would 
give  a  velocity  of  IJ  feet  per  second  or  4,500  feet  per  hour, 
with  a  discharge  running  full  of  nearly  12,000  -gallons  per 
hour.  An  8-inch  pipe  would  then  be  ample  to  do  the  work. 
It  would  be  an  easier  matter  to  clean  it  by  flushing,  the  venti¬ 
lation  would  be  easier  and  it  would  cost  less  than  a  larger  pipe. 


44 


The  quantity  of  sewage  to  be  carried  would  not  fill  the  pipe 
half  full,  and  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  make  use  of  the 
excessive  fall  at  the  upper  end  by  putting  in  a  flush-tank  to 
discharge  the  sewage  intermittently,  thus  running  the  pipe 
nearly  full  at  intervals  and  accomplishing  a  very  thorough 
ventilation  of  the  sewer  through  the  lamp  holes  built,  say,  40 
rods  apart.  With  so  slight  a  fall  there  would  probably  be 
some  deposit  in  the  sewer  which  might  be  removed  by  passing 
a  wooden  ball,  slightly  less  in  diameter,  through  it,  and  for 
this  reason  the  lamp  holes  should  be  built  of  8  inch  pipe  also. 

For  two  miles  this  route  crosses  private  grounds  and  the 
right  of  way  would  have  to  be  purchased,  but  it  is  for  the  most 
part  along  a  division  line  and  in  line  with  the  extension  of 
Walnut  Street,  and  this  should  not  be  a  serious  obstacle. 

Permission  must  also  be  obtained  to  use  the  city  sewer.  This 
proposed  sewer  would  discharge  into  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer 
a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  outfall  into  the  Ohio  River.  The 
size  of  the  city  sewer  is  ample  to  carry  the  added  load,  and  its 
fall  (1  foot  in  400  feet),  with  an  ordinary  flow,  is  sufiicient  to 
prevent  deposit.  An  objection  raised  to  such  use  of  the  Chest¬ 
nut  Street  sewer  is  that  it  will  increase  the  amount  of  sewer 
gas  to  be  discharged  from  filfy  or  more  receiving  basins,  dis¬ 
tributed  along  its  route.  This  is  said  to  be  so  great  already  as 
to  have  become  a  serious  nuisance. 

It  is  probably  true  that  the  slight  fiow  in  this  sewer  during 
the  extremely  dry  season  just  passed  permitted  the  deposit 
of  solids  along  its  sides  and  bottom,  and  their  decomposition 
generated  to  gases  complained  of.  The  remedy  is  to  keep 
the  sewer  clean  by  fiushing  with  water  from  the  city  mains, 
or  increasing  the  minimum  fiow  to  the  point  where  there 
will  be  no  deposit  take  place.  Flowing  one-fourth  full  there 
will  be  no  deposit,  and  flowing  one-third  lull  or  more,  the 
velocity  will  be  sufiicient  to  scour  out  any  deposit  that  has 
been  made,  and  the  journey  of  the  sewage  from  the  extreme 
upper  end  to  the  outfall  in  the  Ohio  River  will  not  exceed 
half  an  hour  in  duration. 

The  addition  of  a  constant  fiow  of  36,000  gallons  daily 
delivered  at  the  extreme  upper  end  of  Chestnut  Street  sewer 
would  tend  to  abate  the  nuisance  of  escaping  sewer  gas  by 
preventing  its  formation,  and  would  be  an  advantage  instead 
of  a  detriment. 


4* 


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45 


) 


The  cost  of  carrying  out  this  plan  of  sewage  disposal  would 
probably  not  exceed  $13,000,  of  which  amount  $3,000  is  esti¬ 
mated  to  cover  the  cost  of  right  of  way  and  the  use  of  the 
city  sewer. 


PLAN  No.  Ill 

Would  be  a  sewer  pipe  running  direct  to  the  Ohio  River  in 
a  southeasterly  direction  from  the  Hospital.  This  route  would 
be  from  the  north  side  of  the  Hospital  to  the  ‘‘  dummy  ’’  rail¬ 
road  at  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Hospital  grounds;  thence 
along  the  railroad  to  the  east  line  of  section  26  ;  thence  south 
along  the  wagon  road  nearly  three  miles;  thence  east  along 
the  road  one  half  mile,  and  thence  south  along  the  road  to  the 
Ohio  River.  Total  distance  four  and  one-half  miles.  The  fall 
per  mile  in  the  pipe  will  be  substantially  the  same  as  on  the 
last  described  route,  and  an  eight-inch  pipe  will  be  large 
enough,  but  the  cutting  will  be  somewhat  deeper,  increasing 
the  cost  per  foot.  The  total  cost  complete  will  probably  not 
exceed  $18,000  and  will  not  fall  much  under  that  sum. 

The  objections  to  this  route  are  the  great  cost,  the  long  line 
to  keep  in  order,  and  the  probability  that  the  city  of  Evans¬ 
ville  would  object  to  having  sewage  discharged  into  the  river 
above  their  water  works,  though  it  is  nearly  nine  miles  above 
by  the  river.  The  execution  of  either  of  these  plans  would  be 
greatly  facilitated  if  the  Legislature  would  grant  the  right  to 
condemn  a  right  of  way.  Without  that  right  the  difficulties 
may  become  insurmountable  and  no  proper  estimate  of  the 
cost  could  be  made. 

A  tracing  of  the  county  map  is  attached,  showing  the  loca¬ 
tion  of  the  hospital  grounds,  and  the  routes  of  the  sewers 
herein  described.  Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  B.  FITCH,  C.  E. 


REPORT  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  HEALTH  TO  THE 
BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  WORKS. 


December  2,  1893. 

Whereas,  The  Board  of  Public  Works  has  referred  to  the 
Board  of  Health  and  Charities  the  proposition  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  Insane  Asylum,  and  the  request  of  said  Trustees  for 
permission  to  tap  the  Chestnut  Street  sewer,  for  the  opinion 
of  the  said  Board  of  Health  and  Charities,  as  to  the  influenee 
of  granting  aforesaid  permission  upon  the  public  health  along 
the  line  of  said  Chestnut  Street  sewer. 

Whereas,  The  proposition  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Insane 
Hospital  is — 

First.  That  Chestnut  Street  sewer  will  be  extended  to  Ken¬ 
tucky  Avenue  at  the  expense  of  the  Insane  Hospital. 

Second.  That  an  8-inch  pipe  or  a  larger  one,  will  be  used  to 
convey  sewerage  from  Hospital  to  aforesaid  Chestnut  Street 
sewer.  Furthermore,  that  no  vegetable  or  other  matter,  which 
can  not  be  suspended  or  dissolved  in  water,  shall  be  allowed  to 
enter  said  Hospital  sewer. 

Third.  In  addition  to  water  necessary  to  carry  off  waste 
matter  from  said  Hospital,  there  will  be  a  pipe  connecting  the 
artesian  flow  of  satt  water  constantly  pouring  into  the  sewer 
leading  from  the  said  Hospital,  and  also  a  tank  will  be  erected 
with  a  capacity  of  not  less  than  10,000  gallons,  which  will  be 
discharged  intermittently  into  the  sewer  leading  from  the  Hos¬ 
pital  three  times  a  week,  or  oftener  if  required  by  the  Board  of 
Health  and  Charities,  between  the  hours  of  9  and  12  p.  m. 

Be  it  resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Board  of  Health 
and  Charities  that  if  the  above  conditions  be  complied  with,  the 
use  of  Chestnut  Street  sewer  will  not  be  detrimental  to  health, 
but  will  be  beneflcial  to  the  sewer,  as  the  quantity  of  water, 
especially  the  salt  water,  will  keep  it  clean  and  free  from  fer¬ 
menting  and  decomposing  matter. 

L.  WORSHAM,  M.  D., 

W.  S.  P0LL4RD,  M.  D., 

JOHN  F.  GLOVER,  M.  D., 

Board  of  Health. 


PROPOSITION  OF  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES  TO 
THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLIC  WORKS  OF  THE 
CITY  OF  EVANSVILLE. 


Gentlemen — We  submit  to  you  the  proposed  plan  for  the 
disposal  of  sewerage  from  the  Southern  Indiana  Hospital  for 
Insane,  and  trust  the  same  will  meet  your  approval: 

We  propose  to  build  an  extension  of  Chestnut  Street  sewer 
from  its  present  termination  to  Kentucky  Avenue,  near  the 
city  of  Evansville.  The  dimensions  of  the  sewer  to  be  from 
the  present  termination  of  the  sewer  to  Bland  Avenue,  three 
(3)  feet  by  four  (4)  feet  in  diameter;  from  Bland  Avenue  to 
Kentucky  Avenue,  two  and  one-half  (2J)  feet  by  three  (3)  feet 
in  diameter;  the  sewer  to  be  constructed  of  brick  similar  in 
character  to  that  now  upon  Chestnut  Street;  from  Kentucky 
Avenue  to  the  Hospital  a  stone  drain-pipe  of  not  less  than 
eight  (8)  inches  in  diameter  to  be  laid  on  proper  grade  to  make 
the  best  flow  that  can  be  obtained.  At  the  Hospital  provision 
will  be  made  for  erecting  a  tank  of  capacity  of  not  less  than 
10,000  gallons  for  flushing  the  sewer  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
prevent  accumulation  of  any  kind  in  the  pipes,  and  such  flush¬ 
ing  shall  take  place  three  times  per  week,  and  oftener  if  re¬ 
quired  by  the  Board  of  Public  Health. 

We  propose  to  turn  into  the  sewer  the  flow  of  the  salt  well 
now  upon  the  Hospital  grounds,  discharging,  at  what  we  be¬ 
lieve  a  conservative  estimate,  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand 
gallons  of  salt  water  per  day.  The  sewer  pipe  to  be  built  in 
an  approved  manner  and  provided  with  proper  man-holes  and 

appliances  to  keep  the  same  free  from  obstructions  or  accum¬ 
ulations. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

P.  H.  BLUE, 

SELEMAK  GIMBEL, 

W.  L.  SWORMSTEDT, 

Trustees. 


OPINION  OF  CITY  ATTORNEY. 


Evansville,  Ind.,  December  9,  1893. 

Department  of  Public  Works,  Evansville,  Indiana : 

Gentlemen — Your  department  is  authorized  by  the  charter 
to  prepare  a  general  uniform  plan  for  the  drainage  and  sewer¬ 
age  of  the  city  and  to  design,  construct  and  maintain  all  public 
sewers  and  drains  within  the  city,  and  all  sewers  aud  drains 
without  the  city  and  within  four  miles  thereof,  which  may  be 
necessary  to  carry  off  the  sewerage  of  the  city. 

You  are  also  authorized  to  drain  any  ground  within  four 
miles  of  the  city  whenever  by  reason  of  stagnant  water  it  has 
been  injurious  to  the  health  of  the  city. 

I  am  unable  to  find  any  law  authorizing  you  to  construct  or 
maintain  any  drains  or  sewers  except  such  as  are  necessary  as 
a  part  of  the  drainage  system  of  the  city  and  for  the  purpose 
of  draining  the  same. 

Without  special  legislation  you  are  not  authorized  to  permit 
the  use  of  any  of  the  sewers  of  the  city  except  for  the  purpose 
for  which  they  are  constructed,  namely:  The  drainage  of  the 
city. 

While  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  the  Board  would  not 
be  authorized  to  cooperate  with  the  Trustees  of  the  Hospital 
for  Insane,  in  the  construction  of  a  sewer  intended  to  form  a 
part  of  the  sewerage  system  of  the  city  as  well  as  of  the  Hospital 
grounds,  I  am  of  the  opinion,  however,  that  your  permission 
to  the  Trustees  to  connect  with  and  use  a  sewer  already  con¬ 
structed  could  not  be  construed  as  the  legitimate  exercise  of 
your  power  to  provide  for  the  drainage  of  the  city. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

GEO.  A.  CUNISriNGHAM, 

City  Attorney, 


V  '  ■* 


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